Markets in Canada’s largest centre fell to a two-week low on Thursday, with financial-sector and energy issues declining as a drop in oil prices weighed on the resource-linked index.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index was behind 65.9 points to greet noon Thursday at 13,313.58
The Canadian dollar was negative 0.35 cents to 75.37 cents U.S.
Equity markets throughout North America are closed tomorrow for Good Friday.
Bank stocks were down on the day, including Royal Bank of Canada, which fell 1.4% to $73.93, and Bank of Nova Scotia, which declined 1.6% to $62.26.
In the oil patch, Suncor Energy fell 0.8% to $35.30, while Canadian Natural Resources was down 1% at $34.42.
A federal judge on Wednesday granted class certification for a U.S. lawsuit claiming Barrick Gold Corp misstated facts of its now-halted Pascua-Lama gold-mine project on the border of Argentina and Chile.
Nonetheless, the stock rose 2.6% to $18.00 as spot gold stabilized after hitting a four-week low.
The defensive consumer staples group also advanced, including a 0.6% rise in the shares of Loblaw to $74.00.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that Canadians receiving employment insurance benefits totaled 543,100 in January, virtually unchanged from the previous month.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange erased 0.4 points to 575.54
Seven of the 13 TSX subgroups were positive by noon, as gold shone brighter 2.4%, materials up 1.1%, and consumer staples improved 0.5%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed by health-care, down 1.8%, financials, sliding 1.5%, and real-estate, off 1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded mostly lower Thursday, the final trading day of the week, as a decline in oil prices weighed and traders eyed dollar
strength.
The Dow Jones Industrials fell 58.01 points to 17,444.58, with Goldman Sachs and Boeing losing the most. Caterpillar contributed the most to gains.
The S&P 500 shed 8.3 points to 2,028.41. Financials traded more than 1% lower to lead S&P 500 decliners in mid-morning trade, while health-care was the only gainer.
The NASDAQ index fell 11.26 points to 4,757.61. Apple pared losses.
In economic news, weekly jobless claims came in at 265,000. February durable goods orders declined 2.8%
Non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, decreased 1.8% after advancing by a downwardly revised 3.1% in January.
The Markit flash U.S. services PMI was 51.0 in March, up from 49.7 in February.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury sank, raising yields to 1.89% from Wednesday’s 1.88%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 94 cents a barrel to $38.85 U.S.
Gold prices regained 32 cents to $1,220.43 U.S. an ounce.
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