Investors reacted gloomily today to news of the re-election of U.S. President Barack Obama, maintaining the status quo of a gridlocked U.S. government with the House and Senate divided along partisan lines.
The S&P/TSX composite fell 130.61 points, or 1.1%, Wednesday to 12,230.59
The Canadian dollar moved lower 0.41 cents to 100.39 cents U.S.
On the TSX, the selloff was broadly based, with almost all sectors posting losses, led by energy. A Mitt Romney win would have likely been more favourable for some energy stocks, given he had planned to open up more land to exploration and development.
Coal stocks are particularly hard hit, as Barack Obama's push against fossil fuels looks set to continue. Teck Resources was down 51 cents, or 1.5%, to close at $33.02.
Bombardier Inc. said it would delay by about six months the first flight of its C-Series jetliner and cut about 1,200 jobs in its train manufacturing division. It also reported a 6% drop in revenue and said it would close a freight car plant in Aachen, Germany, and said it would record a restructuring charge of not more than $150 million in the current quarter. Its shares were down on the day 16 cents, or 4.4%, to $3.45.
WestJet profits soared almost 80% in the third quarter as the Calgary-based airline got lift from revenues that were up almost 12%. Shares recovered 11 cents at $18.07
Agrium Inc. reported adjusted profit of $1.34 per share, below a consensus analyst estimate of $1.76 per share. Shares were down $11.37, or 10.7%, to $95.03
Enbridge Inc. improved its third-quarter profit over the same period last year but the Calgary-based pipeline company’s adjusted earnings fell just short of analyst estimates. Shares were off 70 cents to $39.39.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 12.43 points to 1,290.71
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower Wednesday, with global base metals and energy stocks falling 2.2% each, and information technology of 2.1%.
The lone holdouts were gold, up 1.6%, and materials, ahead 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
A selloff on Wall Street gained momentum Wednesday, with the Dow falling below 13,000 for the first time in two months, as investors focused on how President Obama plans to avoid the fiscal cliff after he won re-election Tuesday night.
A weak outlook for economic growth in Europe and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi's warning of a slowdown in Germany also weighed on the market.
The Dow Jones Industrials dumped 312.95 points, or 2.4%, to close at 12,932.70. JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America were the biggest drags on the blue chip index. And other banks followed suit, with shares of Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo all significantly lower.
The S&P 500 moved down 33.86 to 1,394.53, and the Nasdaq Composite Index got bruised 74.64 points to 2,937.29, each index down more than 2% each, for their worst drop since June.
Coal producer Alpha Natural Resources sank more than 12%, making it the biggest loser on the S&P 500 while Peabody Energy and James River Coal Co also fell sharply. Exxon Mobil, Halliburton and Chesapeake Energy were among the other energy companies taking a hit Wednesday.
For-profit education stocks, which have faced tougher regulation under the Obama administration, also sank. Apollo Group was the second biggest decliner on the Nasdaq 100. Devry and Corinthian College also plunged.
Telecom companies, such as AT&T and Verizon which have a long history of paying out healthy dividends, were also under pressure.
Obama has proposed raising the tax rate on qualified dividends and long-term capital gains.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury leaped for the rafters, pushing the yield down to 1.63% from 1.74% late Tuesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices were down $4.07 at $84.64 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices regained $3.70 per ounce to $1,718.70 U.S.
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