Equities in Canada’s largest centre reverted to negative momentum Thursday, only a day after gains, as much of the fear created by the prospect of higher interest rates seemed only to grow.
The TSX Composite floundered much of the day, losing 207.08 points, or 1.1%, to end Thursday to 18,398.41.
The Canadian dollar thundered lower 0.37 cents to 73.01 cents U.S.
Health-care took the greatest pounding, with Canopy Growth lopping off 31 cents, or 7.5%, to $3.83, while Bausch Health Companies lost 62 cents, or 6.1%, to $9.55.
Techs were also bruised, as Shopify suffered a loss of $3.15, or 7.9%, to $36.71, while Sylogist dropped 30 cents, or 5.2%, to $5.50.
Among utilities, Algonquin Power doffed 62 cents, or 3.9%, to $15.20, while Transalta Renewables fell 50 cents, or 3.2%, to $14.70.
Golds tried to right the ship, as Wesdome Gold gained 56 cents, or 6.7%, to $8.95, while Torex Gold Resources hiked 42 cents, or 4.7%, to $9.45.
Among energy plays, Peyto Exploration added 19 cents, or 1.8%, to $11.05, while Freehold Royalties jumped 29 cents, or 2.1%, to $14.35.
In consumer staples, Alimentation Couche-Tard jumped 69 cents, or 1.2%, to $56.73, while George Weston gained $1.19 to $147.05.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported Gross Domestic Product for July edged up 0.1%.
Also on the board today the number of employees receiving pay or benefits from their employer—measured by the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours—edged up by 12,900 (+0.1%) in July, bringing the total increase to nearly 1.3 million (+7.9%) since July 2021.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 4.98 points, or 1.2%, to 582.59.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups stayed in the red, as health-care dropped 4.7%, information technology slid 3%, and utilities fell 2.5%.
The four gainers were led by gold prospered, ahead 0.9%, energy ahead 0.2%, consumer staples eking up 0.04%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks resumed their 2022 selloff on Thursday, sending the S&P 500 to a new low for the year and its lowest intraday level since 2020, as fears swirled that a recession won’t stop the Federal Reserve from raising interest rates.
The Dow Jones Industrials staggered 458.13 points, or 1.5%, to end Thursday at 29,225.61.
The selloff was broad-based and was led by Apple, which tumbled as a major investment bank downgraded the one-time bear market outperformer. The stock closed down 4.9%.
The S&P 500 dipped 78.57 points, or 2.1%, to 3,640.47, in a new closing low for the year. It also fell to a new 2022 intraday low of 3610.40 during the session.
The NASDAQ Composite plunged 314.13 points, or 2.8%, to 11,737.51.
Wednesday’s rally put the major averages on pace for a losing week and their worst month since June. The NASDAQ is leading the monthly losses, down 9.1%, while the Dow is set to close 7.3% lower and S&P is on pace to finish 8% lower
A stronger-than-expected jobless claims report didn’t help sentiment, building on the notion that the Federal Reserve will keep doing aggressive rate hikes to fight inflation without concern it’s going to hurt the labour market.
Treasury prices lost ground, raising yields to 3.77% from Wednesday’s 3.73%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite direction.
Oil prices lost 68 cents to $81.47 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices sank 90 cents to $1,669.10 U.S. an ounce.
