TORONTO –
Investor hopes for a “Santa Claus rally” this December were dampened yet again Friday, as broad-based declines capped a week of losses on North American markets.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 157.35 points at 19,443.28, for its second straight weekly loss. Canada’s largest stock index is down five per cent since the beginning of the month.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average closed down 281.76 points at 32,920.46. The S&P 500 index ended the day at 43.39 points at 3,852.36, while the Nasdaq composite was down 105.12 points at 10,705.41.
Investors may have started the month with high hopes for a “Santa Claus rally,” a term used to describe what has been a historical tendency for the month of December to deliver positive returns for Canadian and U.S. stocks.
But as recession fears mount globally, those hopes are…
