Equities in Toronto had lost much of their mojo by the end of business on Thursday, owing largely to weakness in metals and health-care concerns.
The TSX slumped 101.03 points to close Thursday at 19,255.92.
The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.16 cents to 81.44 cents U.S.
Resource stocks weighed most heavily on the index, with Equinox Gold staggering 34 cents, or 3.3%, to $6.74, while Wesdome Gold edged back 39 cents, or 4%, to $9.27.
In other metal stocks, Endeavour Mining lost $1.06, or 3.9%, to $26.12, while Methanex tunneled $4.62, or 9.2%, to $45.23.
In health-care, OrganiGram Holdings dipped 19 cents, or 5.4%, to $3.33, while Canopy Growth fell $1.19, or 3.4%, to $33.49.
Energy stocks tried to balance things out, with Vermilion Energy picking up 26 cents, or 2.9%, to $9.27, while MEG Energy advanced 18 cents, or 2.6%, to $7.07.
Among financials, Canadian Western Bank triumphed 48 cents, or 1.4%, to $34.12, while CI Financials added 19 cents, or 1%, to $19.85.
In the communications field, BCE added 35 cents to $58.04, while Cogeco Communications moved upward 49 cents to $116.33.
Ontario will introduce three paid sick days for all workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, as hospitals struggle through a third wave of infections largely driven by coronavirus variants passed through workplaces.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported the total number of payroll employees in February was down 1.2 million (-6.8%) from one year earlier, before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange docked 5.69 to 945.56.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups closed lower, with gold swooning 2.6%, while materials and health-care pointed downward 1.9% each.
The four gainers were led by energy, tacking on 0.8%, financials, better by 0.4%, and communications, up 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 closed at record levels on Thursday after blowout earnings results from two of the biggest tech companies in the world: Apple and Facebook.
The Dow Jones Industrials surged 239.98 points to end Thursday at 34,060.36
The S&P 500 jumped 28.29 points to 4,211.27, a new closing high.
The NASDAQ Composite regained 31.52 points to 14,082.55.
Apple said that sales jumped 54% during the quarter, with each product category seeing double-digit growth. The company also said it would increase its dividend by 7%, and authorized $90 billion in share buybacks. Still, Apple shares ended the day just under the flatline.
Thursday marks President Joe Biden’s 100th day in office. On Wednesday evening, he made his first address to a joint session of Congress where he pushed his so-far popular agenda, which includes a $2 trillion infrastructure plan as well as a freshly unveiled, $1.8 trillion plan for families, children and students.
Thursday is also the busiest day of the quarterly earnings season, with roughly 11% of the S&P 500 slated to provide quarterly updates.
McDonald’s published its results before the opening bell and told investors that its sales have finally topped pre-pandemic levels. The Dow component also raised its outlook for system-wide sales growth. The stock added 1.2% on by the close.
Caterpillar, which also reported on Thursday, lost 2% while Merck dropped 4.4% following disappointing results. Amazon, Gilead Sciences, Twitter, U.S. Steel and Western Digital will post results after the market closes.
Facebook’s revenue jumped 48%, driven by higher-priced ads, sending its stock up 7.3% and to a record. Qualcomm shares added 4.4% after reporting a 52% jump in revenue.
Economic data released Thursday gave investors an update on the progress of the economic recovery.
First-quarter Gross Domestic Product hit an annualized rate of 6.4%, according to a report published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, a sign that the U.S. economy began 2021 with an acceleration of commercial activity. Outside of the reopening-fueled third-quarter surge last year, it was the best period for GDP since the third quarter of 2003.
The U.S. Labor Department, meanwhile, reported that initial jobless claims last week totaled 553,000, just above the 528,000 estimate issued by Dow Jones.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys regained lost ground, lowering yields to Wednesday’s 1.63%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices advanced $1.10 to $64.96 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices inched higher 60 cents to $1,774.50 U.S. an ounce.
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