Canadian Stocks Plummet in Worst Week Since the Pandemic Crash

“What has hurt Canada is that finally we’re seeing the market start to price in a recession, even for the most cyclical, inflation sensitive stocks like energy,” Edgehill Partners Chief Investment Officer Jason Mann said in an interview. “Energy was the last place that people were hiding. It’s been a rolling bear market where nothing is safe.”

Oil and gas stocks, which have helped bolster the S&P/TSX this year, tumbled 14% this week. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd and Enbridge Inc. fell 17% and 9.5% respectively, with both posting their worst weeks since March 2020. Miners and utility companies both dropped more than 6%.

Investors fled the equity markets this week, dragging the S&P 500 Index into its first bear market since March 2020 on Monday. The sell-off worsened on Wednesday when the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 75 basis points, the biggest increase since 1994.