Canada stocks lower at close of trade; S&P/TSX Composite down 0.45%

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Advanced Micro Devices

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Investing.com – Canada stocks were lower after the close on Monday, as losses in the Healthcare, Materials and Telecoms sectors...

Investing.com – Canada stocks were lower after the close on Monday, as losses in the Healthcare, Materials and Telecoms sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Toronto, the S&P/TSX Composite lost 0.45%.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/TSX Composite were Transcontinental Inc (TSX:TCLa), which rose 19.07% or 3.79 points to trade at 23.66 at the close. Meanwhile, Celestica Inc. (TSX:CLS) added 5.12% or 23.00 points to end at 472.52 and Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd (TSX:FFH) was up 4.73% or 109.84 points to 2,431.21 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Curaleaf Holdings Inc (TSX:CURA), which fell 6.60% or 0.25 points to trade at 3.54 at the close. First Majestic Silver Corp. (TSX:AG) declined 4.42% or 0.92 points to end at 19.91 and Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (TSX:IVN) was down 4.42% or 0.65 points to 14.07.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Toronto Stock Exchange by 600 to 320 and 72 ended unchanged.

Shares in Transcontinental Inc (TSX:TCLa) rose to 3-years highs; up 19.07% or 3.79 to 23.66.

The S&P/TSX 60 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/TSX Composite options, was up 10.03% to 12.95.

Gold Futures for February delivery was down 0.54% or 23.05 to $4,219.95 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in January fell 2.03% or 1.22 to hit $58.86 a barrel, while the February Brent oil contract fell 1.96% or 1.25 to trade at $62.50 a barrel.

CAD/USD was unchanged 0.28% to 0.72, while CAD/EUR unchanged 0.24% to 0.62.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.10% at 99.07.

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Why Ralph Lauren (RL) Stock Is Down Today

Stock Story

What Happened?

Shares of fashion brand Ralph Lauren fell 3.6% in the afternoon session after new economic data intensified market agitation ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy decision later in the week.

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, real consumer spending, which is adjusted for inflation, stalled in September, marking its weakest performance in four months. Compounding the issue, the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index, while slightly improved, remained gloomy, with one economist noting that many households faced affordability issues forcing them to be more cautious. This pressure on consumers was reflected in the market, where the Consumer Discretionary sector was among the leading decliners. The broader economic picture showed other signs of caution, as new orders for U.S. factory goods also increased less than anticipated. These indicators collectively suggest a widening slowdown across both consumer and industrial sectors as the Federal Reserve prepared to announce its final policy actions for the year.

The shares closed the day at $356.42, down 3.3% from previous close.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Is now the time to buy Ralph Lauren? Access our full analysis report here.

What Is The Market Telling Us

Ralph Lauren’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 9 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 14 days ago when the stock gained 3% on the news that renewed enthusiasm for Alphabet reinvigorated the artificial intelligence trade, propelling a market rebound heading into the Thanksgiving holiday. The Nasdaq index jumped 2.6% and the S&P 500 gained 1.6%, driven by a 5% rally in Alphabet following the announcement of its upgraded Gemini 3 AI model. This optimism spilled over into the broader tech sector. The rally built on momentum from the previous trading session, sparked by the New York Fed president keeping the door open for a December interest rate cut.

Ralph Lauren is up 54.6% since the beginning of the year, and at $358.05 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $371.22 from November 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Ralph Lauren’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $3,685.

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Stock market today: S&P 500 slips on cautious trading ahead of key Fed meeting

Investing.com

Warner Bros Discovery

+4.41%

Investing.com-- The S&P 500 closed lower Monday as traders opted for caution ahead of this week’s Federal Reserve meeting, which is widely expected to deliver an interest-rate cut.

At 4:00 p.m. ET (20:00 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 215 points, or 0.5%, while the S&P 500 index slipped 0.3%, and the NASDAQ Composite fell 0.1%

All three major U.S. stock indexes recorded positive weeks last week, their second in a row.

Caution ahead of Fed decision

This positive tone exists as many investors expect the Fed to ease monetary policy on Wednesday, especially after the delayed release of September’s core personal consumption expenditures price index — the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge — came in softer than expected at the end of last week.

That cooler inflation reading, combined with signs of a softening labor market and fragile consumer spending, has reinforced the case for the Fed to provide more policy support.

There’s little in the way of economic data to change the narrative Monday, although Tuesday’s JOLTS job openings data could take on additional importance given the monthly official jobs report is now being released after the Fed meeting.

Fed funds futures are pricing in a roughly 88% chance of a Fed cut, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.

The language used by the Fed officials, especially in the post-meeting statement and the projections for 2026, will be closely watched.

"The key question is what will the Fed signal for next year, given that we will be getting a new forecast update from them," ING analysts said in a note.

"As such, the most dovish they could possibly be is to put a second rate cut for their 2026 forecast, but they will be reluctant," they added.

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Netflix-Paramount deal takes a twist as Paramount Skydance launches rival bid

Corporate earnings are also set to play a role in market direction, with results due from the likes of Lululemon (NASDAQ:LULU), Costco (NASDAQ:COST), Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO), Oracle (NYSE:ORCL), and Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) this week.

Ahead of Broadcom’s results, The Information reported on Friday that Microsoft was in discussions about switching the design of its custom chips to Broadcom from Marvell Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MRVL).

Separately, S&P Global said Carvana Co (NYSE:CVNA), CRH PLC (NYSE:CRH), and Comfort Systems (NYSE:FIX) will join the S&P 500 index on Dec. 22, a change that typically sparks repositioning among index-tracking funds.

Elsewhere, International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) announced Monday that it will acquire Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT) for $31 per share in cash, representing an enterprise value of $11 billion.

Netflix’s (NASDAQ:NFLX) $72 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) is also still in the spotlight after Paramount launched a rival bid for Warner Bros.

The move from Paramount comes on the heels of President Donald Trump wining that a Netflix-Warner Bros tie up "could be a problem," sparking concerns about regulatory approval headwinds. The president, however, weighed in further on the topic on Monday, saying he would have to see "what percentage of market [share]" Netflix or Paramount Skydance have to evaluate whether a merger would pose antitrust issues.

Peter Nurse, Ayushman Ojha contributed this article

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Jimmy Kimmel extends ABC contract despite recent suspension

Investing.com

Advanced Micro Devices

Investing.com -- Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS) has extended Jimmy Kimmel’s contract to host "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" for an additional year, keeping the late-night host on air until May 2027.

The 58-year-old comedian informed his staff of the new deal on Monday, according to a report from Bloomberg News, citing four people familiar with the arrangement who requested anonymity because the agreement has not been publicly announced.

The contract extension was reportedly agreed upon months ago but the announcement was delayed out of respect for Stephen Colbert, whose CBS show is scheduled to end in May 2026.

Kimmel’s contract renewal comes despite recent controversy. In September, he was suspended following remarks about Republican activist Charlie Kirk that drew criticism from President Donald Trump.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

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Trump On Bids For Warner Bros: I'd Have To See Netflix, Paramount Percentages Of Market

Reuters

Paramount Skydance Corporation Class B Common Stock

+9.02%

Warner Bros Discovery

+4.41%

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IBM’s outlook revised to negative by S&P after Confluent deal

Investing.com

Advanced Micro Devices

Investing.com -- S&P Global Ratings has revised its outlook on International Business Machines Corp. to negative following the company’s acquisition of Confluent Inc.

The rating agency expects the acquisition to keep IBM’s leverage at approximately 2.5x in fiscal 2026 when the deal closes. Confluent provides data streaming open-source middleware software and serves enterprises with hybrid cloud solutions, similar to IBM’s offerings.

S&P noted that while mergers and acquisitions represent a key pillar of IBM’s growth strategy, this transaction maintains elevated leverage and follows the $6.4 billion acquisition of HashiCorp, which also increased leverage to 2.5x. The agency expressed concern that IBM might continue to be acquisitive, with sizeable transactions potentially pushing leverage above the 2.5x downgrade trigger.

Despite these concerns, S&P projects solid performance for IBM, expecting revenue to expand 6% in fiscal 2025 driven by strong growth in the software segment and infrastructure business from the z17 launch. The software segment grew 8%-9% in constant currency year over year during each of the first three quarters of 2025.

Given increasing demand for AI automation and hybrid cloud services, S&P anticipates the software segment will continue growing at a high-single-digit percentage rate in the fourth quarter of 2025 and into 2026, though the boost from the z17 launch will likely diminish next year.

While IBM’s consulting business returned to growth in the third quarter, this segment could remain soft due to tight IT budgets, declining signings, and economic uncertainty, despite promising generative AI bookings. Overall, S&P projects IBM can increase revenue in the low- to mid-single-digit percentage range in 2026, with improving profitability due to growth in the high-margin software business and operating leverage.

S&P acknowledged that IBM’s software segment growth has led to higher recurring revenue, improved profitability, and better cash flow generation, which could lead to a more favorable view of IBM’s business profile as this segment continues to expand.

The rating agency indicated it could lower IBM’s credit rating if leverage remains above 2.5x, which might occur if acquisitions continue without periods of lower spending, if revenue growth and margin expansion cannot be sustained, or if the company resumes share repurchases or increases its acquisition appetite further.

S&P could revise the outlook back to stable if IBM builds capacity in the rating by refraining from acquisitions or through strong cash flow generation that convinces the agency leverage will remain below 2.5x.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

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2 Ways to Hedge AI-Heavy Portfolios Before the Bubble Pops (or Starts To Deflate) — Barrons.com

Dow Jones Newswires

By Brett Hillard

From microchips to data centers to gas pipelines to solar farms to cloud providers and electric equipment manufacturers, the buildout and investment in the infrastructure needed to support the artificial intelligence revolution is incredibly broad and deep. Just among the four largest "hyperscalers" — Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Amazon — capital expenditures could reach $375 billion in 2025, based on estimates from Morgan Stanley, up from $232 billion in 2024 and $150 billion in 2023. The growth in hyperscaler capex could account for nearly 40% of the growth in U.S. fixed investment in 2025 based on GDP growth estimates by Goldman Sachs.

All that technology spending likely prevented the U.S. from sliding into a recession this year. Still, that's a lot of eggs in the AI basket. AI stocks such as Nvidia, Broadcom, Palantir, as well as other internet, software, hardware, industrial, and power suppliers, accounted for 75% of the S&P 500's return from November 2022 through mid-September 2025, as well as 80% of earnings growth and 90% of capital spending growth, according to J.P. Morgan.

Increasingly, U.S. economic growth and stock market performance has been driven by the capital expenditure plans of a small set of companies. As we've seen with previous technological revolutions companies tend to overbuild — think the telecom boom and bust of the late 1990s and early 2000s. If today's megacap tech companies begin to turn off the spending spigots any deceleration or declines in capex could lead to a market and economic adjustment.

Will the AI bubble inevitably burst? Not necessarily. Appropriate allocation to companies that either directly or tangentially invest in AI continues to be a smart move for most investors. But so is diversifying into income-generating and defensively positioned strategies to build portfolios that are both resilient and opportunistic come what may in the markets.

The time for advisors to discuss such diversification strategies with their clients is now. Here are two such strategies involving alternative investments that provide an attractive hedge to AI exposure whether this latest tech bubble pops or simply starts to deflate in the new year.

Targeted private credit or other income-generating strategies. A sset-based lending to mature, capital-intensive businesses can provide attractive returns with risk mitigation through collateral protection and stronger loan documentation. Loans can be collateralized by accounts receivable, inventories, machinery and equipment, real estate, IP, and other assets. Managers targeting industries that are out of favor with banks and other private lenders can benefit from increased pricing and structuring power.

Railcar and transportation asset leasing offers inflation-resistant cash flows and diversified exposure to end markets that have little exposure to the technology sectors. Barriers to entry are higher as large owners and lessors of railcars and other assets need to provide repair and maintenance as part of their service offerings.

With real estate lending focused on high-quality sponsors in the small to middle market, there is typically limited exposure to digital assets such as AI data centers, given the focus on smaller transactions. Today, data center and digital real infrastructure financing require large lenders such as banks, insurance companies, and large private capital managers. Smaller real estate lenders focus on multifamily, smaller industrial properties, retail and hospitality.

Buyout funds or direct investments. Diversification-minded investors may consider small to middle-market buyout funds or direct investments that target mature, defensive, cash-flowing businesses — think quick-service enterprises like fast food restaurants, non-tech B2B service companies, and consumer service providers — that can be acquired at attractive valuations by sponsors.

With lower valuations, investors may receive distributions sooner like higher dividend yielding stocks. Based on our research, sponsors adept at expanding market reach, product expansion, enacting efficient operations, and other value creation initiatives have the potential to generate returns of 15% to 20%.

Whether the AI tide continues to rise or begins to ebb, those who prepare now will be best positioned to capture durable returns.

Brett Hillard serves as the CIO of GLASfunds and oversees the research team, responsible for alternative manager sourcing, due diligence, and monitoring. Prior to GLASfunds, he was a managing director at Key Private Bank. He is a CAIA and CFA charter holder.

Editor's note: Guest commentaries like this one are written by authors outside the Barron's Advisor newsroom. They reflect the perspective and opinions of the authors. Submit feedback and commentary pitches to advisor.editors@barrons.com .

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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