The TSX extended its slide in afternoon trading Thursday, after the resource and industrial groups continued their downtrend.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 32.42 points to close Thursday at 15,180.33
The Canadian dollar fell 0.28 cents to 80.01 cents U.S.
Miners led the decline after Goldcorp fell $2.34, or 8.1%, to $26.60, on the heels of financial results.
Among energy issues, Imperial Oil trailed 31 cents to $49.65, while Canadian Natural Resources dipped 15 cents to $38.05. In the industrial sector, Bombardier dropped seven cents, or 2.8%, to $2.45
Leading the gainers was consumer staples, led in turn by Jean Coutu Group, better by 84 cents, or 3.2%, to $26.86.
Information technology was also positive as BlackBerry took on eight cents to $12.96.
In the health-care sector, Valeant Pharmaceuticals sprang up $2.20, or 1.1%, to $211.25. Among utilities, Northland Power plummeted 64 cents, or 3.8%, to $16.38.
PhosCan Chemical was the most heavily traded stock, trading up half a cent to 29 cents.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada reported that Canadians receiving regular employment insurance in December totaled 495,300, up 0.7% from the month before. Compared with December 2013, the number of beneficiaries fell 24,500 or 4.7%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faltered 5.95 points to 692.03
Of the 14 Toronto subgroups, eight were lower by day’s end, with gold dulling 2.2%, metals and mining weakening 1.2%, and materials lower by 1.1%.
The half-dozen gainers were led by consumer staples, strengthening 0.6%, while information technology and consumer discretionary stocks were each up 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed narrowly mixed on Thursday after the S&P 500 touched a new intraday record, amid lower oil prices and Germany's rejection of a Greece loan extension plan.
The Dow Jones Industrials lost 44.08 points on the day to 17,985.77, with Boeing leading 10 blue chips higher and Wal-Mart the greatest decliner.
The S&P 500 slipped 2.23 points to 2,097.45, having briefly turned positive in late-morning trade to reach a new level above its intraday high of 2,101.30 touched on Tuesday, initially led by the consumer discretionary sector.
The NASDAQ index gained 18.34 points to 4,924.70, as Apple stayed near records
Wal-mart reported adjusted earnings that beat estimates and revenue that missed expectations. The retailer will give half a million employees pay raises.
Intuit, Nordstrom and Newmont Mining are all due to report earnings after the bell.
Weekly jobless claims came in less than expected at 283,000. The latest Philly Fed index showed the lowest reading since February last year.
The energy sector fell more than 1% before recovering on a report from the Energy Information Administration that showed crude oil inventories rose a more-than-expected 7.7 million barrels.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries eased, lifting yields to 2.11% from Wednesday’s 2.07%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slumped $1.77 per barrel to $51.30 U.S.
Gold prices improved $5.60 an ounce to $1,205.80 U.S.
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