Equities on both sides of the border came back Thursday from sharp gains acquired Wednesday, as investors pondered the prospect of another rate hike by the U.S. central bank later this month.
The S&P/TSX Composite ended Thursday negative 63.03 points at 15,536.65, after a gain Wednesday of 200 points.
The Canadian dollar docked 0.23 cents at 74.66 cents U.S.
Gold stocks were roughed up somewhat on Thursday, with Barrick Gold taking a bruising of $1.11, or 4.4%, to $24.12, while rival Goldcorp tumbled 71 cents, or 3.4%, to $20.12.
In the material sector, First Quantum Minerals faded 19 cents, or 1.3%, to $14.76, and Agrium stepped back $2.13, or 1.6%, to $127.49.
Real-Estate concerns were negative, too, as Brookfield Asset Management tailed Wednesday’s close by 12 cents to $48.35.
Picking up some of the slack were advances in consumer staple stocks like Metro, up 19 cents to $38.92, while Loblaw picked up 69 cents, or 1%, to $69.92.
Information technology stocks also moved higher, as BlackBerry gained five cents to $9.23, and Constellation Software added $8.71, or 1.4%, to $639.96.
In the utilities field, Hydro One gained 11 cents to $23.66, while Fortis Inc. gained 29 cents to $42.70.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reported that our economy progressed 0.3% during December, as real gross domestic product rose 0.6% in the fourth quarter, following a 0.9% increase in the third quarter.
The agency goes on to say final domestic demand continued to decelerate, with ongoing weakness in business investment.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange collapsed 12.19 points, or 1.5%, to 809.87
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly split, as consumer staples acquired 0.9%, information technology rose 0.6%, and utilities picked up 0.4%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by gold, slumping 4.2%, materials, slouching 3.5%, and real-estate, skidding 0.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
Equities south of the border closed lower on Thursday as financials lagged, while social media company Snap had a strong performance in its initial public offering.
The Dow Jones Industrials wilted 111.08 points to 21,004.47, after an ascent of more than 300 points Wednesday, with Caterpillar leading decliners and Home Depot the top advancer.
Caterpillar's stock declined more than 4% after law enforcement officials searched their offices.
The S&P 500 lost 14.09 points to 2,381.88, with financials leading seven sectors lower and utilities outperforming.
The NASDAQ doffed 42.81 points to 5,861.22
Snap — the parent company for social media platform Snapchat — saw its stock hike more than 40%, pushing it well above the $17.00 a share it priced its IPO. Investors eagerly awaited the IPO as they looked for clues on the health of the technology IPO market.
In economic news, initial U.S. jobless claims totaled 223,000, well below the expected 243,000. Last week's reading increased 6,000 to 244,000.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note dropped, raising yields to 2.49% from Wednesday’s 2.45%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped $1.17 to $52.66 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices fell $14.80 to $1,235.20 U.S. an ounce.
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