Equities in Canada’s largest market fell Thursday, amid broad-based declines led by health-care and tech companies.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index plummeted 65.38 points to close Thursday at 16,006.67
The Canadian dollar slid 0.29 cents to 77.40 cents U.S.
Canadian mergers-and-acquisitions activity nearly doubled in the third quarter, fueled by deals in the mining, real estate and cannabis sectors.
Speaking of cannabis issues, Canopy Growth Corp. dumped 82 cents, or 1.3%, to $62.50, while Aurora Cannabis fell 34 cents, or 2.7%, to $12.21.
In tech, Shopify got pummeled $13.91, or 6.8%, to $192.07, while BlackBerry lost 30 cents, or 2.2%, to $13.27.
Among consumer discretionary stocks, Magna International dissolved $1.33, or 1.9%, to $67.79, while Gildan Activewear slipped 58 cents, or 1.5%, to $38.00
Gold miner Alamos Gold rose three cents, or 1.5%, to reach $6.03 by the closing bell. Barrick Gold rose 10 cents to $15.06.
Among industrials, Canadian Pacific Railway climbed $8.02, or 3%, to $280.08, while rival Canadian National gained $1.40, or 1.2%, to $116.59
On the economic slate, Western University’s Ivey School of Business said its Purchasing Managers Index for September registered at a seasonally-adjusted 50.4, substantially lower than August's 61.9, indicating that purchases were greater than the previous month. The number also fell short of the 59.6 figure for September 2017
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange drooped 4.22 points to 703.03
All but three of the 12 subgroups were lower on the day as health-care surrendered 3.1%, information technology clicked lower 2.2%, and consumer discretionary stocks lost 1.5%.
The three gainers were gold, up 0.5%, industrials, up 0.2%, and communications, eking up 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell sharply on Thursday as interest rates hit new multiyear highs, dampening investor sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave back 200.91 points from Wednesday’s all-time record close to 26,627.48, as Nike and Home Depot lagged. The 30-stock index dropped 356 points at its lows of the day and posted its worst decline since Aug. 10.
The S&P 500 lost 23.9 points to 2,901.61, notching its worst day since June 25, with communications and tech sectors both sliding more than 1.5%.
The NASDAQ collapsed 145.57 points, or 1.8%, to 7,879.51, its biggest daily drop since June 25 — to 7,879.51 as Facebook, Netflix and Alphabet all dropped more than 2%
The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield reached its highest level since 2011, breaking above 3.2%.
Dividend-paying stocks sensitive to higher rates fell broadly, including Procter & Gamble, which closed 1.3% lower. Bank shares, meanwhile, benefited from the higher rates. J.P. Morgan Chase picked up 0.9% and Bank of America rose 1.4%.
Shares of Amazon and Apple both fell after a report said a Chinese equipment manufacturer may have allowed microchips used for spying into some equipment used by Amazon Web Services and the iPhone maker. Both companies dispute the report.
On Thursday, initial jobless claims fell to 207,000, a near 49-year low. The report comes as investors brace for the September jobs report, which is scheduled to be released Friday morning.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury lost sharply, raising yields to 3.19% from Wednesday’s 3.16%. Yields reached a high not seen since 2011. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped $1.89 at $74.52 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices recovered 40 cents to $1,203.30 U.S. an ounce.
