Canada's main stock index fell to its lowest level in almost six weeks on Thursday as financial stocks lost ground and low oil prices pressured energy companies.
The S&P/TSX composite index moved lower 154.75 points, or 1.2%, to greet noon at 13,187.18. The index is in danger of running its losing streak to seven straight sessions.
The Canadian dollar dwindled 0.25 cents at 75.15 cents U.S.
Manulife Financial Corp fell 2.5% to $21.60 a share after Canada's biggest insurer reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit on oil and gas investment losses.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc fell 4.6% to $100.13 a share. The company's stock has slumped from well above $300 in September amid sharp scrutiny of its business practices.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd was down 2% to $31.08 a share.
Encana Corp shares fell 0.3% to $9.86 after the natural gas producer posted a smaller-than-expected loss.
The most influential gainer was Canadian Tire, which was up 5% to $119.15 after the retailer reported earnings that beat expectations.
On the economic scene, Statistics Canada was out this morning with its new housing price index for September edged up 0.1% in September, following a 0.3% increase in August.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 2.8 points to 525.62
All 13 TSX subgroups were lower midday, metals and mining being the worst off, down 2.8%, energy sliding 1.7%, and industrials weaker 1.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded lower Thursday as oil weighed while investors kept an eye on employment data points as well as several speeches from Federal Reserve officials.
The Dow Jones industrial average dumped 209.85 points, or 1.2%, to 17,492.37, dragged down by Goldman Sachs and Chevron. The blue chips index is on track for its worst week in 10.
The S&P 500 skidded 17.31 points to 2,057.69, to fall back into negative territory for 2015 in intraday trade for the first time since Oct. 27. The last close in the red for the year was on Oct. 22.
The NASDAQ index dropped 21.77 points to 5,045.25.
Macy's traded slightly higher after posting its worst trading day since 2008 on Wednesday following mixed quarterly results.
In corporate news, Kohl's reported earnings of 75 cents U.S. per share for the third quarter, six cents above estimates. Revenue also exceeded consensus, and Kohl's also reported a 1% increase in same-store sales, above forecasts of a 0.6% rise.
Liberty Media said it will recapitalize its common stock into three separate tracking stocks, known as Liberty Braves, Liberty Media, and Liberty Sirius.
Viacom matched estimates with adjusted quarterly profit of $1.54 U.S. per share, with revenue slightly below consensus.
Thursday's session also featured several Fed speakers, including Fed Chair Janet Yellen, who delivered welcoming remarks at a conference in Washington, D.C., as investors continued to look for clues about the central bank's timing on hiking interest rates.
On the data front, weekly jobless claims came in at 276,000, unchanged week over week, but higher than the expected 270,000.
The September JOLTS report showed job openings were little at 5.5 million, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries were slightly lower, raising yields to 2.31% from Tuesday’s 2.33%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. The bond market in the U.S. was closed Wednesday for Veterans’ Day
Oil prices dipped $1.05 a barrel to $41.88 U.S.
Gold prices fell $6.26 to $1,080.00 U.S. an ounce.
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