The Toronto stock market continued its losing streak Thursday afternoon, hurt by the continuous drop in energy and mining shares on the heels of the decline in commodity prices.
The S&P/TSX composite index dropped 101.13 points to close Thursday at 14,238.40
The Canadian dollar sank 0.45 cents to 76.58 cents U.S.
Gold stocks took the brunt of selling fury Thursday, as Asanko Gold collapsed in price 25 cents, or 10.5%, to $2.13, while B2Gold shed 15 cents, or 8.9%, to $1.54.
Metals and mining also had a rough time of it, as Sherritt International got pasted seven cents, or 5.8%, to $1.13, and HudBay Minerals slumped 45 cents, or 5.8%, to $7.29.
Energy stocks faded, as Trican Well Services dipped 31 cents, or 13.4%, to $1.98, while Lightstream Resources lost 6.5 cents, or 12.3%, to 46.5 cents.
Consumer staples provided some respite from the negative tide, as Cott Corporation climbed 54 cents, or 3.7%, to $15.02, while Metro triumphed $1.03, or 2.8%, to $37.60.
Crescent Point Energy was the most heavily traded stock, losing 29 cents, or 1.6%, to $17.58, on 6.4 million shares.
On things economic, Statistics Canada reported its new housing price index for June rose 0.3%, mostly due to gains in Ontario. This was the third consecutive monthly price increase for the Canada-level index.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture slipped 2.57 points to 576.01.
Nine of the 14 TSX subgroups were lower on the day, as gold sank 4.7%, while metals and mining was off 3.3%, and energy slid 3%.
The five gainers were led by consumer staples, up 1.4%, telecoms, ahead 0.8%, and information technology, better by 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities pared gains and closed mostly lower on Thursday despite concerns over China having been largely subsided while investors digested a number of economic data points.
The Dow Jones industrial average cleared breakeven, but by only 5.74 points, to end the day 17,408.25, with Cisco Systems leading advancers and Intel and Caterpillar the greatest laggards. The blue chip index also snapped a two-day losing streak.
The S&P 500 weakened 2.66 points to 2,083.39, with energy leading eight sectors lower and consumer discretionary and financials the only advancers.
The NASDAQ index fell 10.83 points to 5,033.56
Elon Musk's Tesla Motors filed to offer 2.1 million common shares in an attempt to raise at least $500 million U.S. in new capital. The company's stock traded higher before the bell.
Merck, Monster Beverage, GoPro and Yahoo shares were all upgraded by BMO Capital Markets, Morgan Stanley, Cowen & Co. and Bernstein, respectively.
U.S. retail sales for July rose 0.6%, slightly above estimates, the Commerce Department said, boosted by auto sales. June's retail sales were also revised up to show them unchanged instead of the previously reported 0.3% drop
Weekly jobless claims came in at 274,000, slightly above a consensus estimate of 270,000, while import prices fell 0.9% amid lower oil costs and a strong dollar.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries sagged, boosting yields to 2.19% from Wednesday’s 2.15%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices moved down $1.07 a barrel to $42.23 U.S.
Gold prices were lower by nine dollars to $1,114.60 U.S. an ounce.
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