Canada Benchmark Nearly Erases 2026 Gains Amid Gold Meltdown

Canada’s main stock-market benchmark briefly swung to a loss for the year after gold fell for a seventh straight day as traders piled into wagers that key central banks will raise interest rates to offset the inflation shock of high oil prices.

The precious metals selloff on Thursday dragged the S&P/TSX Composite Index down as much as 2.3% to 31,566, the lowest since mid-December. A rebound later in the day pared the loss to 1.4%, enough to leave it with a small gain for the year.