Stocks in Canada’s largest centre took the hit Thursday they’d gained Wednesday, as health-care and gold issues weakened badly.
The S&P/TSX Composite stumbled 260.99 points, or 1.4%, to close Thursday at 18,223.54.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.60 cents to 79.33 cents U.S.
Health-care proved the biggest weight on the market Thursday, with Aphria collapsing $2.05, or 8.1%, to $23.14, while Aurora Cannabis dropped 98 cents, or 6.7%, to $13.57.
Resource stocks tumbled, too, with First Quantum Minerals subtracting $1.88, or 6.1%, to $29.18, while Methanex letting go of $4.21, or 8.1%, to $47.66.
In the gold patch, Eldorado Gold lost 95 cents, or 6.1%, to $14.57, while New Gold jettisoned 11 cents, or 5.1%, to $2.05.
Consumer staples tried to liven things up, with Maple Leaf Foods jumping $1.95, or 8.2%, to $25.70, while North West Company gained $1.18, or 3.9%, to $31.47.
In communications, Quebecor took on 49 cents, or 1.5%, to $31.99, while Shaw Communications moved ahead 22 cents, or 1%, to $22.41.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported Thursday average weekly earnings were $1,112 in December, little changed compared with November.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 28.15 points, or 2.7%, to 1,032.28
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups lost ground, with health-care tumbling 4.3%, while gold and materials each weakened 3%
The two gainers were consumer staples, up 1.7%, and communications, better by 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks fell sharply Thursday as an outsized surge in bond yields spooked investors, who rushed to dump risk assets, especially high-flying technology names.
The Dow Jones Industrials staggered 559.85 points, or 1.8%, to 31,402.01, from Wednesday’s all-time record close.
The S&P 500 lost 96.09 points, or 2.5%, to 3,829.34. Consumer discretionary slid 5.4%, and info tech skidded 4.5%, and were thus the two biggest losers among 11 S&P 500 sectors.
The NASDAQ Composite hurtled earthward 478.53 points, or 3.5%, to 13,119.43, posting its biggest selloff since Oct. 28. Alphabet, Facebook, and Apple all fell more than 3%, while Tesla dropped 8.1%. Microsoft shed 2%. The tech-heavy NASDAQ has dropped 5.4% this week, on pace for its second weekly loss in a row.
GameStop, the controversial meme stock whose massive short squeeze shocked Wall Street last month, is on the rise again. Shares gained 18.6% in volatile trading after doubling in the previous session on the reported ousting of a chief executive.
The major averages tumbled in a rapid fashion as the 10-year Treasury yield soared as high as 1.6% in a sudden move that some described as a "flash" spike. The yield later settled back down to around 1.52%, its highest level since February 2020.
Investors digested better-than-expected economic data out Thursday. First-time jobless claims totaled 730,000 for the week ended Feb. 20, versus a print of 845,000 expected by economists polled by Dow Jones. Meanwhile, durable goods orders increased by 3.4% in January, compared to a Dow Jones consensus of 1.0% growth.
Some traders looked past the moves in the bond market after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell emphasized the central bank’s commitment to easy policy and downplayed the risk of inflation, saying it could take three years or more before the Fed’s goals are reached.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys fell sharply, raising yields to 1.50% from Wednesday’s 1.38%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices reacquired 16 cents to $63.38 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices stumbled $25.80 to $1,772.10
Related Stories
