Canada's main stock index retreated on Wednesday, led by energy shares, as worries about another wave of coronavirus infections and record-high oil inventories weighed on the prices of the commodity.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index headed lower approaching noon by 218.44 points, or 1.4%, to 15,346.31.
The Canadian dollar sagged 0.08 cents to 73.70 cents U.S.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Aurora Cannabis, which jumped 48 cents, or 2.6%, to $18.88, after a Stifel upgrade and Torex Gold Resources, which rose $1.13, or 6%, to $20.00, after TD Securities started coverage with a "buy" rating and $30 target price.
First Quantum Minerals, which fell by 55 cents, or 5.5%, to $9.45, and Crescent Point Energy, which shed 12 cents, or 5.5%, to $2.27, were the biggest drags on the index.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange tailed 0.86 points to 585.98.
All but two of the 12 subgroups were still negative near noon, with energy fading 2.9%, consumer discretionary stocks settling 2.1%, and health-care, fell 1.9%.
The gainers were gold, up 0.6%, while materials squeezed into the green 0.01%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell sharply on Wednesday as traders grew worried about the increasing number of newly confirmed coronavirus cases, which raised concern about the economic reopening and recovery.
The Dow Jones Industrials dumped 682.95 points, or 2.6%, to break for lunch at 25,473.15.
The S&P 500 sank 78.11 points, or 2.5%, to 3,053.44.
The NASDAQ Composite dumped 211.06 points, or 2.1%, to 9,920.31. The tech-heavy NASDAQ was headed for its first daily decline in nine sessions.
The major averages hit their lows of the day after Florida said its confirmed cases jumped by 5,508 on Tuesday, a record, and now total 109,014. The state also said its positivity rate rose to 15.91% from 10.82%.
Analysis of Johns Hopkins University data found the U.S. seven-day average of coronavirus cases surged more than 30% from a week ago after the total number of cases grew by more than 31,000 on Monday.
Shares of companies primed to benefit from the economy reopening faltered. United Airlines fell 5.9%. Delta, American and Southwest all slid over 4%. Carnival lost 9.7%, Norwegian Cruise Line slid 10.9% and Royal Caribbean was 10%.
Retailer Gap also fell 8%. Disney, meanwhile, fell 3.1% after its theme park workers petitioned to postpone the reopening amid the spike in cases in Florida.
California is one of the states which have seen a dramatic spike in cases, adding more than 6,000 on Monday alone. In Texas, the COVID-19 hospitalization rate has hit a record for 12 straight days.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury gained ground, weighing yields down to 0.69% from Tuesday’s 0.71%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slumped $2.25 to $38.12 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices subsided $1.60 to $1,780.40 U.S. an ounce.
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