Equities in Canada’s largest centre finished on the minus side Thursday, due to heavy losses in health-care.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 46.89 points to wrap up Thursday at 16,002.13
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.04 cents to 76.88 cents.
Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Wednesday officials needed to do more work before she could hold fresh talks with the United States on renewing North America Free Trade Agreement as time runs out to reach a deal.
Health-care took huge lumps, as Aurora Cannabis shed 82 cents, or 9%, to $8.29, and Aphria doffed $3.24, or 6.8%, to $17.58.
Dollarama's drop of $8.97, or 17.2%, to $43.10, was the biggest drag on the TSX and pushed the consumer discretionary index down. Elsewhere in the sector, Canadian Tire dropped 38 cents to $157.30.
Consumer staples had a rough time of it, too, and among the biggest decliners was Empire Co, down 79 cents, or 3.2%, to $24.27, after posting its quarterly results. Saputo hesitated 39 cents, or 1%, to $38.73.
Real-estate led a weak crop of gainers Thursday, as Brookfield Asset Management acquired 41 cents to $55.09, while units of Canadian Apartment Properties gained 36 cents to $48.67.
Among financials, Manulife Financial gained 12 cents to $22.85. Utilities tried to make a go of it, with Hydro One picking up 21 cents, or 1.1%, to $19.80.
The largest percentage gainer on the TSX was Methanex Corp, which jumped $2.60, or 2.7%, to $98.12.
On the economic list, Statistics Canada reported that builders in 15 of the 27 census metropolitan areas surveyed reported higher prices in July, pushing the Canada-level new housing price index up 0.1%. It was the second straight rise for house prices in this country.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 12.26 points, or 1.7%, to 714.24
Eight of the 12 subgroups were lower Thursday, as health-care tumbled 7.6%, consumer discretionary stocks retreated 1.9%, and consumer staples dropped 0.7%.
The four gainers were led by real-estate, moving up 0.2%, while financials and utilities each nicked up 0.1%
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Thursday as Apple shares recovered from losses in the previous session. Investor sentiment was also boosted as fears of rapidly rising inflation were tempered.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average leaped 147.07 points to 26,145.99, to post a three-day winning streak with Apple contributing the most to the gains.
The S&P 500 jumped 15.26 points to 2,904.18, led by a 1.2% gain in tech.
The NASDAQ strengthened 59.48 points to 8,013.71, as Alphabet rose nearly 1%.
Apple shares gave the broader equity market a boost as well as they rose 2.4% Thursday's move comes after a 1.2% drop Wednesday as the unveiled three new iPhones.
Other tech stocks also rose on Thursday, including Nvidia and Micron. Shares of Micron rose 4.5% after hedge fund manager David Tepper told various media he is still "very, very long" the stock. Nvidia, meanwhile, gained 1.2%.
Sentiment improved after news emerged that the U.S. was seeking to reignite trade discussions with China. Sources told the media that the United States was in the early stages of proposing a new round of trade talks with China in the near future.
This comes after a week of turmoil between the two nations, which saw China looking to seek permission from the World Trade Organization to inflict sanctions upon the U.S., and President Donald Trump stating last week that he was "ready to go" on hitting China with an additional amount of tariffs. Consequently, an air of cautiousness lingers for markets around the world.
The Commerce Department said the consumer price index — a widely followed inflation metric — rose 0.2% last month. Economists expected a gain of 0.3%
Market expectations for a September rate hike are at 97.4%. The market is also largely expecting a rate hike in December, with expectations at 83.3%.
Investors had grown fearful of rising inflation recently, as it could lead to tighter monetary policy. The Federal Reserve has raised rates twice this year and is forecast to hike again later this month.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury gained a bit of ground, lowering yields to 2.97% from Wednesday’s 2.98%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices subsided $1.55 to $68.82 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices sank $3.50 to $1,207.40
