Equities in Canada’s largest market took a collective pounding Thursday to finish 2020, on resource weakness, although the full-year tally gave investors reason to smile.
The TSX dumped 112.45 points Thursday to end the week, month and year at 17,433.36.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.16 cents to 78.59 cents U.S.
The TSX gained 370 points, or 2.17%, in 2020, compared with a 19.1% jump last year, as a surge in coronavirus cases and strict restrictions weighed.
Resources took a wallop on New Year’s Eve, as Eldorado Gold shed 52 cents, or 3%, to $16.89, while Yamana Gold lost 22 cents, or 2.9%, to $7.29.
Wheaton Precious Metals was lower $1.62, or 3%, to $22.98, while First Quantum Minerals docked 72 cents, or 3%, to $22.98.
In energy, MEG Energy slid 17 cents, or 3.7%, to $4.43, while Tourmaline Oil ditched 38 cents, or 2.2%, to $17.16.
Financials tried to balance things out, as Element Fleet Management gained 27 cents, or 2.1%, to $13.37, while Great-West Lifeco tacked on 43 cents, or 1.4%, to $30.35.
In real-estate, First Service gained $1.61 to $174.22, while units of Interrent REIT picked up nine cents to $13.69.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange catapulted 10.1 points, or 1.2%, to 875.36. The gain on the year was an astounding 298 points, or 51.6%.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower, as gold tumbled 2.1%, while materials dropped 1.4%, and energy slid 1.1%.
The two gainers were financials, up 0.2%, and real-estate, up 0.03%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 rose to all-time highs on Thursday as Wall Street wrapped up one of the most volatile years for the market in recent memory.
The 30-stock index popped 196.62 points to end the year at 30,606.48. Intel rose 2.2% to lead the Dow higher.
The S&P 500 regained 24.03 points to 3,756.07. Financials and utilities advanced more than 1% each to lift the S&P 500.
The NASDAQ added 18.28 points to 12,888.28.
Equities fell sharply in February and March as the COVID pandemic spread outside of China. The S&P 500 suffered its most rapid 30% drawdown on record.
But after bottoming out in late March, and amid unprecedented action by the Federal Reserve to shore up the credit markets, stocks rebounded dramatically and have ripped off a series of record highs before the end of year.
The tech-heavy NASDAQ gained 43.6% this year, posting its best one-year performance since 2009. The S&P 500 closed 2020 with a 16.3% gain. The Dow rose 7.3% in 2020.
Investors digested on Thursday a better-than-expected reading on U.S. weekly jobless claims. The U.S. Labor Department declared the number of first-time unemployment-benefits filers totaled 787,000 for the week ending Dec. 26. Economists polled by Dow Jones were expecting a print of 828,000.
The latest leg higher for the market has been fueled by the rollout of vaccines and a new economic relief package from Congress, though Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has blocked efforts to increase the amount of direct stimulus payments to $2,000 from $600.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury were higher, lowering yields to 0.92%, from Wednesday’s 0.94%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices were static at $48.40 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $8.20 to $1,901.60.
