A see-saw kind of day saw stocks in Toronto forfeit whatever gains they had achieved, sitting near the flat line by the end of Thursday’s session, mostly due to lower readings for consumer staple and health-care issues.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index managed to hang onto 8.85 points to end Thursday at 16,192.78, well off its highs of the day
The Canadian dollar fell 0.25 cents to 77.02 cents U.S.
Consumer staples took the biggest hit on the day, as Metro Inc lost 39 cents to $42.04, while Loblaw Companies stepped back $1.06, or 1.6%, to $64.55.
Among the biggest decliners on the TSX was Aphria, down 81 cents, or 6.3% to $11.98. Elsewhere in the health-care sector, Canopy Growth capsized $1.24, or 3.1%, to $39.44.
Techs were also bruised as BlackBerry sank 33 cents, or 2%, to $15.91, and Constellation Software handed over $21.78, or 2.1%, to $1,026.30
Energy stocks tried to make up for the losses, as shares of Suncor Energy, rose $1.45, or 2.8%, to $52.52, and Canadian Natural Resources gained 66 cents, or 1.5%, to $44.19
Among financials, Toronto-Dominion Bank was up 26 cents to $75.67 and Royal Bank of Canada inched up six cents to $99.30
The largest percentage gainer on the TSX was Canadian Western Bank, which jumped $2.67, or 7.8%, to $37.02, after reporting second-quarter revenue above consensus.
The Canadian dollar was little changed against its U.S. counterpart as voters in Ontario headed to the polls and ahead of an assessment by the Bank of Canada of risks to the stability of the financial system.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture inched ahead 0.47 points to 775.57
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower, with consumer staples tumbling 2.2%, health-care fading 1.9%, and information technology off 1.6%.
The three gainers were energy, gushing 2.3%, while financials gained 0.2%, and telecoms squeezed up 0.01%.
ON WALLSTREET
The NASDAQ composite pulled back from record levels on Thursday as declines in Facebook and other major tech names pushed the sector lower.
However, the Dow Jones Industrials gained 95.02 points to 25,241.41, as McDonald's shares jumped 3.8% after the company announced a fresh batch of layoffs.
The S&P 500 faded 1.98 points to 2,770.37, as tech's losses offset strong gains in energy shares.
The NASDAQ fell 54.17 points to 7,635.07, as Facebook and Netflix both fell more than 1.5%. Amazon and Alphabet also contributed to the NASDAQ's losses. The NASDAQ closed at a record high on Wednesday
Tech has risen sharply in recent weeks, with the sector gaining more than 5% over the past month.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told the media that the U.S. struck a deal with China's ZTE to end American sanctions against the company. Ross noted the deal includes a $1-billion penalty against ZTE and a U.S.-chosen compliance team to be embedded at ZTE.
However, trade concerns lingered as Boeing shares dropped 1.4%. Boeing is highly sensitive to trade worries since a large chunk of its business comes from overseas.
Equities have rebounded nicely over the past month, with the major indexes rising at least 3% in that time period. Strong economic data, coupled with tech's sharp rise, have helped push stocks higher.
Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett said he expects the economy to perform strongly for years to come. "Right now, there's no question: It's feeling strong. I mean, if we're in the sixth inning, we have our sluggers coming to bat right now," Buffett told the media.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury gained sharply, lowering yields to 2.92% from Wednesday’s 2.98%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices picked up $1.24 at $65.97 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices regained 10 cents to $1,301.50 U.S. an ounce.
