Equities in Canada’s largest centre fought to within sight of breakeven Thursday, but ran out of gas (!) toward the end, despite a kick from energy and tech stocks. Gold continued to have its troubles and weighed things down considerably
The S&P/TSX Composite lost 15.08 points to end Thursday at 14,595.50
The Canadian dollar moved down 0.20 cents to 75.65 cents U.S.
Among the chief weights in the gold sector, heavyweight Barrick Gold, which dumped 48 cents, or 2.3%, to $20.59, while Goldcorp got bruised 39 cents, or 2.1%, to $18.64.
Among health-care issues, Valeant Pharmaceuticals dumped $1.12, or 3.5%, to $31.29, while marijuana distributor Canopy Growth Corporation faded nine cents, or 1.8%, to $4.89.
Gainers included energy issues such as Precision Drilling Corp. advanced 24 cents, or 4.2%, to $5.95, as well as Crescent Point Energy, advancing 15 cents to $18.12.
Also marching were tech stocks such as BlackBerry, hiking 40 cents, or 4%, to $10.50.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that municipalities issued $7.3 billion worth of building permits in August, up 10.4% from July. This marked the second consecutive monthly increase.
The agency went on to say the gain in August was mainly attributable to higher construction intentions in Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia.
ON BAY STREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faded 12.19 points, or 1.6%, to 766.31
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher on the day, as information technology and energy each climbed 0.5%, while utilities clicked 0.4% higher.
The five laggards were weighed most by gold, sinking 2.5%, materials, down 1.4%, and health-care, off 1%.
ON WALL STREET
Stocks south of the line closed near the flatline on Thursday as investors looked ahead to a key employment report.
The Dow Jones Industrials remained in the red 12.53 points to 18,268.50, with American Express leading decliners and Home Depot the top advancer.
The S&P 500 poked higher 1.04 points to 2,160.77, with materials leading seven sectors higher and health care the top decliner.
The NASDAQ Composite concluded a seesaw day down 9.17 points to 5,306.85
In corporate news, shares of social media firm Twitter plummeted more than 20% after media reports that three major tech firms were unlikely to take it over.
Thursday features but a mini-earnings parade, with Helen of Troy and Ruby Tuesday reporting after the closing bell.
The U.S. Labor Department is scheduled to release its September jobs report Friday, with economists expecting the U.S. economy to have added 170,000 jobs and unemployment holding steady at 4.9%.
The jobs report will come on the back of upbeat U.S. data released Wednesday, including the strongest print on the Institute for Supply Management non-manufacturing index for the year. On Thursday, weekly jobless claims fell to 249,000.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury moved lower, raising yields to 1.74% from Wednesday’s 1.71%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices acquired 67 cents to $50.50 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices fell $11.70 to $1,256.90 U.S. an ounce.
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