Aaron Sobeski

The TSX is “probably” heading into bear market territory – defined by 20 percent move to the downside from its peak, according to Mike Archibald, Portfolio Manager, Equities at Aurion Capital Management. He says it’s got a lot more to do with what’s going on outside of Canada, than what’s going on inside. Archibald points to China’s economic problems, slowing growth in the European Union and the IMF downgrade of emerging market growth as the main factors lowering demand for commodities.

Most asset classes have been trading lower amid the global equity selloff and Canada’s REIT – Real Estate Investment Trusts (XRE.TO) sector is no exception – down close to 10 percent over the past year – but the spread between government of Canada 10-year bonds and REIT payouts is at a 15-year high.

With gold dropping to levels not seen since early 2010, the once safe-haven for investors is quickly turning bulls into bears. “All the catalysts supporting gold are gone,” Anastasia Amoroso, vice president and global market strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management tells BNN. Gold slid more than 1 percent on Friday to its lowest since early 2010, putting the metal on course for its biggest weekly loss in nine months.