Toronto stock index falls along with U.S. markets

Markets responded to rising trade tensions on Monday

Canada’s main stock index dropped Monday to start the month down along with U.S. markets as trade tensions rose.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 58.73 points at 16,981.47.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average ended down 268.37 points at 27,783.04. The S&P 500 index was down 27.11 points at 3,113.87, while the Nasdaq composite was down 97.48 points at 8,567.99.

The Canadian dollar averaged US75.20¢, down from an average of US75.25¢ on Friday.

The January crude contract was up US79¢ at US$55.96 per barrel and the January natural gas contract was up US4.8¢ at US$2.33 per mmBTU.

The February gold contract closed down US$3.50 at US$1,469.20 an ounce and the March copper contract was down a cent at US$2.65 a pound.