The S&P/TSX Composite Index was little changed above the 36,000 mark on Monday, holding near last Friday’s record high, as investors digested the latest inflation data. Canada’s headline CPI rose 3.0% year-on-year, slightly above the 2.9% consensus forecast. Core inflation gauges monitored by the Bank of Canada also ticked higher, reinforcing expectations that the central bank is likely to keep interest rates on hold for the rest of the year.
Major banks inched higher ahead of next week’s earnings releases. In geopolitics, tensions in the Middle East remained elevated, with few signs of a near-term resolution. Oil prices firmed, providing support to energy names; Canadian Natural advanced more than 1%.
In contrast, retail shares declined, with Alimentation Couche-Tard (ATD), Loblaw, and Dollarama each slipping around 1%. Software and tech-services names also traded lower, mirroring weakness in U.S. software infrastructure stocks, and Shopify fell more than 1.5%.
