(Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks fell despite fresh initiatives announced by the U.S. Federal Reserve to support the U.S. economy as investors await progress on a stimulus package from Congress.

The S&P/TSX Composite fell as much 2.7% at the open in Toronto, swinging between losses and gains, signaling mounting concern on the economic fallout from the coronavirus crisis. Investors are beginning another dramatic week digesting slashed economic forecasts as the Covid-19 death toll climbs with cities from from New York to Los Angeles all but shut down and cases rise rapidly outside Asia.

In Canada, more companies are suspending operations, laying off workers and withdrawing earnings forecasts and the virus outbreak. Gildan Activewear Inc. pulled its first quarter and full year forecasts due to heightened uncertainty relating to the impacts of Covid-19. Over the weekend, Husky Energy Inc. suspended its West White Rose Project and Lundin Gold Inc. temporarily halted work at the Fruta del Norte gold mine.

Traders have shrugged off efforts by central banks to stem the economic fallout. The Fed on Monday announced that it will buy an unlimited amount of bonds to keep borrowing costs low and setting up programs to ensure credit flows to corporations and state and local governments. While that sent equity futures soaring earlier Monday, markets opened with stocks in the red.

However, the government’s action to stem the bleeding shouldn’t be taken lightly, Bloomberg Intelligence strategists Gina Martin Adams and Michael Casper wrote. “Contrary to narratives that policymakers can’t aid risk-asset prices given the unique nature of the Covid-19 crisis, their faster response than in prior crises should be heeded,” they said. The actions by the central banks around the world, may coincide with a “risk-sentiment bottom,” similar to 2008 financial crisis, the strategists wrote.

Meanwhile, Canadian consumer confidence went into a tailspin as half a million Canadians applied for unemployment benefits. The Bloomberg Nanos Canadian Confidence Index, based on telephone surveys of households, recorded its biggest one-week drop ever and reached the lowest level since 2013, when weekly tracking began.

To add to the pain, the technical outlook for the S&P/TSX Composite doesn’t look very promising, at least in the short-term, according to Canaccord Genuity analyst Javed Mirza. The charts for both S&P 500 and TSX suggest “another leg lower,” he said, adding that “we were struck not only by how much technical damage had been done, but that the charts suggested further downside.”

There may be a silver lining. “The good news is that given the extreme technical damage done over the last month, any further decline should be the prelude to equities forming a major price low,” Mirza said. And if if the markets decide to shift to a bullish tone, Mirza thinks it could support “a sharp snapback V shaped rally, similar to the rally off the December 2018 lows.”

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