Canada’s main stock index opened lower on Thursday, extending its slide to a fifth straight session, as worries over global slowdown kept investors on edge.
The TSX Composite Index dipped 22.05 points to begin Thursday at 16,288.92
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.07 cents at 74.94 cents U.S.
Iamgold has partially halted work at its Rosebel gold mine in Suriname after an influx of illegal miners blockaded operations, local media reported. Iamgold fell three cents to $4.74.
Scotiabank cut the target price on Linamar Corp. to $60.00 from $70.00. Linamar shares tumbled $5.26, or 12.8%, to $35.72.
CIBC cut the target price on Toronto-Dominion Bank to $81.00 from $83.00. TD shares lost $1.09, or 1.5%, to $72.35.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 1.5 points to 556.34
Seven of the 12 Toronto subgroups began the day in positive territory, with health-care up 2.2%, consumer staples up 0.6%, and communications ahead 0.4%.
The five laggards were weighed most by financials, down 0.4%, consumer discretionary, down 0.3%, and energy, trailing Wednesday’s close by 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks dropped to their lows of the day on Thursday after the release of disappointing economic data added fuel to Wall Street’s fears over the global economy.
The Dow Jones Industrials plunged 244.75 points, or 1.9%, to 25,833.87.
The S&P 500 slumped 23.69 points to 2,863.24
The NASDAQ Composite stepped back 67.47points to 7,717.78
Thursday’s losses brought the Dow’s three-day decline to more than 1,000 points, adding to the Street’s dismal start to the fourth quarter.
The financials sector was the biggest decliner in the S&P 500, dropping more than 1% along with five other sectors. Tech-related stocks such as Netflix dipped 4%, and Amazon fell 1.4%, respectively. Apple also lost 1.6%.
The Institute for Supply Management said its reading on the U.S. services sector fell last month to its lowest level level since August 2016. The ISM non-manufacturing index came in at 52.6 for September. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a print of 55.3.
Earlier this week, ISM posted its weakest reading on the manufacturing sector in more than 10 years, sparking fears of an economic recession.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury shot sharply higher, lowering yields to 1.52% from Wednesday’s 1.59%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slid 91 cents to $51.73 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $7.40 to $1,515.30 U.S. an ounce.
Related Stories
