Hit by Twin Shocks, Canadian Markets Face Treacherous Recovery
- Stocks and loonie reel as oil’s crash adds to virus shutdowns
- Quarter included record percentage losses and gains for stocks
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In a span of about six weeks, Canadian stocks posted their swiftest ever descent from bull to bear market, the loonie tumbled, corporate credit spreads sprang to the widest since 2009 and liquidity all but vanished at times.
The head-spinning quarter has left Canadian markets lagging their U.S. neighbors as the collapse in oil prices compounds the damage from the Covid-19 pandemic. The 22% plunge in equities has laid bare the thinness of the country’s corporate base.