Equities in Canada’s largest centre tracked losses in energy and material companies as aggressive monetary tightening by central banks raises prospects of a global recession.
The TSX Composite retreated 112.37 points to move into noon hour Thursday at 19,613.77.
The Canadian dollar fell 0.26 cents to 75.72 cents.
Gold stocks weighed most heavily, as Wesdome Gold Mines dropped 35 cents, or 4.1%, to $8.21. Equinox Gold fell 22 cents, or 4.7%, to $4.42.
In energy stocks, Crescent Point Energy dived 31 cents, or 3.2%, to $9.29, while Baytex Energy lost 25 cents, or 3.7%, to $6.54.
Communications provided one of the few bright spots, as Rogers soared 68 cents, or 1.3%, to $54.74, while Quebecor gained 30 cents, or 1.1%, to $27.04.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada said Canadian auto sales were down 16.2% in July to 130,480 units.
What’s more, the Canadian Real Estate Association reported national home sales edged down 1% on a month-over-month basis in August. Actual (not seasonally-adjusted) monthly activity came in 24.7% below August 2021.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange sank 11.61 points, or 1.8%, to 642.76
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups had faltered by lunch break, as gold doffed 2.8%, energy surrendered 2.2%, and materials slid 2.1%.
The five gainers were led by communications up 0.5%, while health-care picked up 0.3%, and real-estate eked up 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks fell in choppy trading on Thursday as investors mulled over several economic reports that showed a muddy picture of the U.S. economy.
The Dow Jones Industrials backed off 31.45 points to noon hour EDT Thursday to 31,103.64
The S&P 500 sank 23.46 points to 3,922.55.
The NASDAQ Composite subtracted 113.15 points, or 1%, to 11,606.53.
Shares of Adobe fell 13% after the company announced a $20-billion deal to buy Figma, weighing on the Nasdaq. Oil giant Chevron dropped 2%, hurting the Dow.
Financial stocks outperformed, with Goldman Sachs rising 1.3% and JPMorgan climbing 1%.
On Thursday, initial jobless claims came in better than expected, but import prices saw a smaller drop than estimates suggested. Retail sales beat expectations, but turned negative when excluding autos.
Manufacturing data also showed a slowing economy. While those reports suggest that the U.S. consumer sector is holding its ground for now, they will do little to alleviate concerns about persistent inflation.
Treasury prices slumped, raising yields to 3.46% from Wednesday’s 3.41%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite direction.
Oil prices swooned $3.13 to $85.35 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped $29.70 to $1,679.40 U.S. an ounce.
