Equities in Toronto fell on Thursday as energy stocks, miners and fertilizer companies retreated in the face of persistent volatility in bond markets that left global financial market confidence in short supply.
The S&P/TSX composite index collapsed 154.62 points, or 1%, to greet noon at 15,000.06
The Canadian dollar moved backward 0.17 cents to 80.14 cents U.S.
The most influential movers on the index were Enbridge Inc., which fell 1.5% to $59.42, and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd, which declined 1.2% to $37.53.
Materials, which includes miners and fertilizer companies, retreated. Potash Corp fell 2% to $38.39, Agrium Inc was off 1.8% at $128.58, and Barrick Gold Corp lost 2.1% to $14.63.
Other weights on the index were Royal Bank of Canada , which fell 0.2% to $80.08, and Toronto-Dominion Bank, which declined 0.5% to $54.63.
Economically speaking, Western University revealed that its Ivey Purchasing Managers Index stood at 62.3 in May, compared to 58.2 in April, and 48.2 in May 2014.
The index canvasses purchasing managers as to their spending habits over the previous month, whether they increased, decreased or stayed put. A figure above 50 shows an increase while below 50 shows a decrease.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange let go of 5.26 points to 686.19.
All but one of the 14 TSX subgroups were lower by noon, as metals and mining moved lower 2%, while materials and global base metals hesitated 1.4% each.
Information technology stocks were unchanged midday.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded lower on Thursday as the recent bond selloff and lack of resolution on Greece kept investors on edge in a quiet day of economic releases leading up to Friday's employment report
The Dow Jones Industrials swooned 116.67 points to 17,959.60, with Verizon leading most blue-chips lower and Goldman Sachs the greatest gainer.
The S&P 500 index lost 12.72 points to 2,101.35, with materials leading nine sectors lower and utilities the only advancer.
The NASDAQ faded 23.78 points to 5,075.45.
In corporate news, Apple said it would clear most of watch backlog within two weeks and expanded the offering of the device to seven more countries. Earlier, The New York Times reported that, contrary to many expectations, the iPhone maker will not unveil a new Apple TV box at the Worldwide Developer Conference next week.
L Brands, the Victoria's Secret parent, reported a same-store sales increase of 5% for May, above the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of a 2.8% increase.
Cybersecurity firm FireEye announced a partnership with Visa aimed at preventing hacking of payment data.
Five Below earned an adjusted eight cents U.S. per share for its latest quarter, one cent above estimates, with revenue also exceeding forecasts. The discount retailer also raised its outlook for the year, with sales up 22% over a year ago.
Satellite TV operator Dish Network is in talks to merge with T-Mobile US, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Weekly jobless claims came in Thursday at 276,000, below expectations and last week's 282,000 figure. The report comes ahead of the May U.S. non-farm payrolls report on Friday.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained back lost ground, lowering yields to 2.33% from Wednesday’s 2.37%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped $1.22 a barrel to $58.42 U.S.
Gold prices flopped $11.20 at $1,173.70 U.S. an ounce.
Related Stories
