Canadian Stocks Whipsaw Amid Rekindled Fears of Virus Risks

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian shares closed little changed Friday after swinging between gains and losses as Apple Inc. said it would close stores in some U.S. states, renewing fears of coronavirus risks.

The S&P/TSX Composite index was flat at 15,474.20 in Toronto. The index pared earlier gains after Apple said it would temporarily close 11 stores in Florida, Arizona, North Carolina and South Carolina after cases of Covid-19 spiked in some areas.

Materials was the best performing sector in the index, led by mining stocks. Consumer discretionary fared the worst.

In Canada, sustainable investing is exploding as the coronavirus and an anti-racism movement highlight long-standing social inequalities. Net inflows into Canadian exchange-traded funds that track companies focusing on environmental, social and governance factors has surged to C$740 million ($544 million). That has already outstripped the C$200 million invested in 2018 and the C$142 million last year, excluding seed capital, according to TD Securities Inc.

Meanwhile, the extra pay that Canada’s largest banks have been giving to employees required to work at branches or offices during the Covid-19 pandemic is coming to an end.

Commodities

• Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $9 discount to West Texas Intermediate
• Spot gold rose 1.1% to $1,742.63 an ounce

FX/Bonds

• The Canadian dollar was flat at C$1.3609 per U.S. dollar
• The 10-year government bond yield rose slightly to 0.532%

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