Canada's main stock index fell on Wednesday after data showed manufacturing activity in March hit a nine-year low in another sign of the economic damage from the coronavirus outbreak.
The TSX Composite Index retreated 385.04 points, or 2.9%, to open Wednesday and the month of April at 12,993.71, this after a first-quarter dive of more than 21%.
Teck Resources suspended its 2020 financial forecasts and said it expected steelmaking coal production to drop to about 80-85% of normal levels in an initial two-week slowdown from March 25 due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Teck shares dropped 23 cents, or 2.2%, to $10.44.
TD Securities raised the target price on Airboss of America to $15.00 from $11.00. Airboss moved against the tide, and sprinted $1.07, or 13.3%, to $9.13.
CIBC cut the target price on First Quantum Minerals to $10.00 from $18.00. First Quantum sagged 51 cents, or 7.1%, to $6.68.
JP Morgan raised the target price on Imperial Oil to $17.00 from $15.00. Imperial shares ducked 41 cents, or 2.6%, to $15.50.
Scotiabank raised the target price on TCP Energy to $72.00 from $69.00. TCP Energy fell $1.79, or 2.9%, to $60.76.
Economically speaking, Markit Canada Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index dropped from 51.8 in February to 46.1 in March, to register below the 50.0 no-change threshold for the first time since August 2019.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 5.62 points, or 1.4%, to 384.78, after a first-quarter loss of 32.4%.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower in the first hour, with health-care ditching 3.7%, financials down 3.3%, and real-estate off 3.1%.
The three gainers were gold, up 1.1%, materials, ahead 0.5%, and energy, going higher 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell sharply on Wednesday as Wall Street begins the second quarter on a sour note amid mounting concerns over the coronavirus outbreak.
The Dow Jones Industrials stumbled 640.28 points, or 2.9%, to 22,276.88. Boeing, Dow Inc and American Express all fell more than 5% to lead the Dow Industrials lower.
The broader S&P 500 fell 79.04 points, or 3.1%, to 2,505.55. The S&P 500 was led lower by the real estate, energy and financial sectors.
The NASDAQ Composite let go of 194.15 points, or 2.5%, to 7,505.95.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday evening the U.S. should prepare for a “very, very painful two weeks” from the rampant coronavirus. White House officials are projecting between 100,000 and 240,000 virus deaths in the U.S.
More than 874,000 cases have been confirmed around the world, according to Johns Hopkins University. Of those cases, over 189,000 are in the U.S. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told the media that he is starting to see “glimmers” that social distancing is helping to lessen the spread of the coronavirus.
Data from ADP and Moody’s Analytics showed U.S. companies cut 27,000 jobs through March 12. Actual losses for the month were far worse, as shown by the record number of jobless claims in the week or March 20. Meanwhile, the Institute for Supply Management manufacturing index fell to 49.1 in March from 50.1 in February, signaling a contraction in U.S. manufacturing activity amid the pandemic.
Prices for the 10-Year U.S. Treasury hiked, lowering yields to 0.59% from Tuesday’s 0.67%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices faded six cents to $20.42 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices lost $2.50 to $1,594.10 U.S. an ounce.
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