Canadian stocks fell by triple digits Thursday, weighed down by hefty losses in health-care and energy stocks amid a broad based selloff in global equities.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index got bruised 200.27 points, or 1.3%, to conclude Thursday at 15,317.13
The Canadian dollar recovered 0.08 cents to 76.71 cents U.S.
Energy stocks hurt the most, as Suncor Energy lost $2.06, or 4.2%, to $46.74, while Canadian Natural Resources slid $1.30, or 3.3%, to $37.82.
Aphria tumbled 16 cents to $19.90, after the cannabis producer said there was no investment deal in place. In the previous session, the stock jumped 15% on a report that Altria Group was in talks for acquiring a stake.
Canopy Growth faded $1.31, or 2.1%, to $61.45.
In the financial sector, Manulife Financial declined 57 cents, or 2.7%, to $20.40, while Bank of Montreal dived $1.29, or 1.2%, to $103.45.
On the positive side, Barrick Gold rose $1.46, or 9.7%, to $16.47, after affirming its 2018 gold and copper production forecasts, reflecting improvement in operations. Kinross Gold climbed 18 cents, or 4.9%, to $3.89.
Agnico Eagle Mines zoomed $3.72, or 8.2%, to $49.01, while First Quantum Minerals were 34 cents, or 2.4%, to the good, at $14.71.
In the tech sector, Celestica jumped $1.03, or 7.9%, to $14.11, after brokerage Macquarie upgraded the stock to "outperform". BlackBerry shares added 30 cents, or 2.5%, to $12.38.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported its new housing price index was unchanged, despite growth in some markets. The agency says that in August, builders in 18 of the 27 census metropolitan areas surveyed reported flat or decreasing prices.
The Canada-level index stood at 103.3 in August and has not risen above that mark since November 2017.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange subtracted 1.1 points to 691.46
Eight of the 12 subgroups were down Thursday, as energy flopped 2.8%, while health-care and financials each slid 1.7%,
The four gainers were led by gold, sprinting ahead 8.2%, while materials grew 3.7%, and information technology clicked higher 0.7%
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell sharply in volatile trading on Thursday as investors dumped riskier assets in favor of traditional safe havens like bonds.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 545.91 points, or 2.1%, to close Thursday at 25,052.83, bringing its two-day losses to more than 1,300 points.
The S&P 500 sank 57.31 points, or 2.1%, to 2,728.37, running its losing streak to six straight sessions. The broad index also broke below its 200-day moving average for the first time since May.
The NASDAQ slumped 92.99 points, or 1.3%, to 7,329.06, and briefly entered correction territory.
The major indexes fell after some of the major tech names failed to recover from steep losses in the previous session. Netflix fell more than 1% after briefly trading higher. Apple also declined 0.9% erasing earlier gains. Amazon dropped 2% after falling 6.2% on Wednesday.
The recent downturn in equities comes as investors brace for the upcoming earnings season. J.P. Morgan Chase and Citigroup are among the companies scheduled to report Friday before the bell.
Expectations are high for this earnings season. Analysts expect S&P 500 earnings to have grown by 19% in the third quarter.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury gained sharply, lowering yields to 3.15% from Wednesday’s 3.20%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices surrendered $2.37 at $70.80 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices strengthened $32.30 to $1,225.70 U.S. an ounce.
