(Updates at market close)
By Utkarsh Hathi and Fergal Smith
TORONTO, Oct 22 (Reuters) – Canada’s main stock index pulled back from a four-week high on Thursday as a drop in gold and copper prices weighed on metal mining stocks, while technology fell on renewed concerns over AI spending.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index ended down 351.54 points, or 1%, at 35,973.45. It posted on Wednesday its highest closing level since September 22 after Canada unveiled a multi-billion support package for sectors hit hard by US tariffs.
* The tech-heavy Nasdaq led declines on Wall Street after earnings from mega-caps Tesla and Meta did little to address AI-related concerns, with higher oil prices further adding to market unease.
* “The market is starting to get concerned about the spending. Celestica is very much linked to the AI trade because of the work that they do for some of these hyperscaler companies,” said Brian Madden, chief investment officer at First Avenue Investment Counsel.
* Shares of electronic equipment company Celestica tumbled 12%, contributing to a 1.6% decline for technology .
* The materials sector, which includes metal mining shares, declined 5.6% to post its lowest closing level since August 4.
* Gold fell 2.7% and copper was down 2.8% as the increase in oil prices fueled inflation concerns ahead of a Federal Reserve policy meeting next week.
* US crude oil futures settled 2.4% higher at $99.47 a barrel. Still, energy lost 1.7%.
* Safe-haven demand for government debt helped lower long-term borrowing costs, with Canada’s 10-year yield down 7.9 basis points at 3.786%.
* The interest rate sensitive real estate sector added 2.8%, while industrials ended up 2.3% as Waste Connections and Mullen Group eclipsed estimates for quarterly results.
* Shares of Waste Connections, a waste services company, jumped 9.5% and those of logistics firm Mullen Group ended 11.5% higher.
(Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto and Utkarsh Hathi in Bengaluru; Editing by Jonathan Ananda and Alistair Bell)
