Markets in Canada’s largest centre finished in the red Thursday, as resource and telecoms suffered late-day losses.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index slid 48.57 points to close Thursday at 15,033.64
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.28 cents to 78.92 cents U.S.
The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, fell back.
Hudbay Minerals diminished 43 cents, or 4.2%, to $9.83.
Potash Corp of Saskatchewan declined 42 cents, or 1.9% to $21.90, and Teck Resources fell 48 cents, or 1.6%, to $29.28.
First Quantum Minerals, another base metal miner, fell 25 cents, 1.9%, to $13.16.
Among telecoms, BCE doffed 22 cents to $59.19, while rival Shaw Communications fell 5.5 cents to $27.80.
In the consumer discretionary sector, Canadian Tire slipped 15 cents to $152.44, while Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers skidded nine cents to $36.24.
Among health-care stocks – one of the few bright spots on Canadian markets Thursday – Valeant Pharmaceuticals gained 30 cents, or 1.7%, to $18.19.
Gold stocks also barely managed to keep their heads above water, as Goldcorp was positive 22 cents, or 1.3%, to $16.69, while Kinross Gold collected a penny to $5.54.
On matters macroeconomic, Statistics Canada reported manufacturing sales fell 1.8% to $53.9 billion in June, following three consecutive monthly gains.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 2.07 points to 767.42.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were negative, with materials sliding 0.5%, with telecoms and consumer discretionaries each fading 0.4%.
The two gainers were health-care, advancing a mere 0.2%, and gold, shining 0.1% brighter.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities fell on Thursday on concerns President Trump's recent controversies will make it less likely for Congress to work with him to pass business-friendly legislation.
The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 274.14 points, or 1.2%, to 21,750.73, Cisco Systems was the biggest decliner on the 30-stock index despite the company posting quarterly results that were largely in-line with expectations.
The index started falling earlier on fears that Gary Cohn, a business friendly advisor to the president, could resign his role as director of National Economic Council because of Trump's remarks following the violent protests in Charlottesville, Va.
The Dow briefly pared losses when reports indicated Cohn has no plans to resign and it was just speculation. Still, the concern remains that members of Congress and others in the business community would not want to work with the President following the backlash that led Trump to dissolve two CEO advisory forums.
The S&P 500 lost 38.1 points, or 1.5%, to 2,430.01, with information technology leading all sectors lower.
The NASDAQ tumbled 123.19 points, or 1.9%, to 6,221.91
Cisco Systems' stock fell 4% after the company said its sales will fall again next quarter, negating a quarterly report that was largely in line with expectations.
Shares of Wal-Mart fell 1.6% despite the company posting better-than-expected quarterly results. L Brands also reported results that topped expectations, but the company lowered its 2017 earnings-per-share guidance, sending the stock down 3.6%.
Overall, calendar second-quarter earnings have been a mixed bag for retailers. Nordstrom posted better-than-expected earnings and sales, sending their stock higher. Meanwhile, earnings and sales for Macy's topped expectations, but investors sent the stock lower after the results came out.
In economic news, weekly jobless claims fell to a seasonally adjusted 232,000 from 244,000. Meanwhile, U.S. factory output slipped in July as auto production fell off.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note gained ground, lowering yields to 2.19% from Wednesday’s 2.23%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices inched higher 23 cents to $47.01 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices gained $11.40 to $1,294.30 U.S. an ounce.
