Equities in Toronto fell on Wednesday as a drop in crude oil prices weighed on energy stocks, while financials fell after one of the country's largest banks reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index lumbered lower 199.3 points, or 1.6%, to open at 12,564.14.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.28 cents to 72.21 cents U.S.
Royal Bank of Canada reported a quarterly profit that missed market estimates on Wednesday, hurt by weakness in its insurance and capital markets businesses.
RBC shares took a nosedive $2.98, or 4.3%, to $66.65.
Encana Corp cut its capital budget and production target for 2016, and said it would slash more jobs as the company struggles to cope with a steep fall in oil prices.
Encana shares hiked 70 cents, or 16.8%, to $4.85.
BlackBerry said it has acquired U.K.-based cyber security consultancy Encription, moving the company deeper into the services business as it continues to morph into a more software-focused entity amid its ongoing turnaround.
The company once known as Research In Motion faded in price 21 cents, or 2.1%, to $9.79.
Canaccord Genuity raised the target price on Altus Group to $27.00 from $24.00, with a buy rating.
Altus shares took on two cents to $18.00.
BofA Merrill Lynch raised the target on Bank of Montreal to $86.00 from $84.00, with a neutral rating.
BMO shares dipped $1.99, or 2.7%, to $71.69.
CIBC raised the target price on Birchcliff Energy to $7.00 from $6.00. Birchcliff shares docked five cents, or 1%, to $4.80.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 2.76 points to 535.34
All but two of the 13 TSX subgroups were lower, as metals and mining dove 7.2%, financials were off 2.9%, and energy slid 2.1%.
The two gainers were in gold, up 3.4%, and materials, gaining 1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded more than 1% lower Wednesday, pressured by continued declines in oil prices as hopes of curbing oversupply waned.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 232.06 points, or 1.4%, to 16,199.72, with Caterpillar leading decliners and United Technologies the only gainer.
The S&P 500 slumped 26.99 points, or 1.4%, to 1,894.37, with energy and financials the greatest laggards. Utilities proved the only gainer.
The NASDAQ index tumbled 68.16 points, or 1.5%, to 4,435.42
The major U.S. averages extended losses slightly after the Markit Flash February report on services PMI came in at 49.8, down sharply from 53.2 in January and a touch below the key 50.0 level.
New home sales for January hit 494,000, below the expected 520,000
Prices for the 10-year Treasury spiked, lowering yields to 1.66% from Tuesday’s 1.74%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell $1.22 a barrel to $30.65 U.S.
Gold prices marched higher $24.13 to $1,250.98 U.S. an ounce.
Related Stories
