Investors sorted through the wreckage by Thursday’s closing bell, as worry over a possible worldwide trade war left stocks indices in a mess, with damage in Toronto being felt in the health-care and tech fields.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index was roughed up 275.35 points, or 1.8%, to end Thursday at 15,399.93
The Canadian dollar slouched 0.16 cents at 77.38 cents U.S.
Health-care stocks were hit particularly hard, with RepliCel Life Sciences Inc. down four cents, or 10.5%, to 34 cents, while Canopy Growth took a drubbing of $1.49, or 4.5%, to $31.62.
BlackBerry said it would provide software for Tata Motors' luxury car brand Jaguar Land Rover. The company once known as Research In Motion slumped 36 cents, or 2.1%, to $16.60. Constellation Software drifted lower $24.41, or 2.7%, to $872.00
Among consumer discretionary stocks, Gildan Activewear subsided 66 cents, or 1.7%, to $37.39, while Magna International surrendered $4.00, or 5.4%, to $70.45.
Utilities supplied one of the few bright spots, with Hydro One gaining 14 cents to $20.98, while Fortis Inc. did better by 28 cents to $43.24.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported that during January, those of us drawing regular Employment Insurance benefits decreased by 5,800, or 1.2%, in January to 494,200, continuing a downward trend that began in October 2016.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange stumbled 14.07 points, or 1.7%, to 817.08
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups were negative on the day, weighed most by health-care, subsiding 2.6%, information technology, sliding 2.2%, and consumer discretionary stocks, off 2.1%.
The lone gainer was in utilities, stronger by 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks south of the border fell sharply on Thursday, pressured by worries of a potential trade war and a decline in tech shares. The broader market was also pressured by a decline in bank stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average floundered 724 points, or 2.9%, to close at 23,957.89, with Caterpillar, 3M and Boeing as the biggest decliners. The 30-stock index also briefly entered correction territory for the first time since last month, falling 10% from its 52-week high at one point late in the day.
The S&P 500 slipped 68.24 points, or 2.5%, to 2,643.69, with seven of 11 sectors — including tech and financials — dropping more than 2%.
The NASDAQ composite Index faltered 178.61 points, or 2.4%, to 7,166.68
Google-parent Alphabet fell 3.6% and dipped into correction territory. Tech companies are also among the companies that could be in the cross-hairs of a U.S.-China trade war.
Boeing dropped 5.2%, while shares of Caterpillar and 3M both closed lower.
Bank stocks, meanwhile, fell as Citigroup, J.P. Morgan Chase and Bank of America all traded lower.
Tech shares have been under pressure lately amid a sharp decline in Facebook shares. News broke recently that data research firm Cambridge Analytica gathered data from 50 million Facebook profiles without the permission of its users.
Shares of Facebook have been under pressure all week, sliding 8.5% through Wednesday's close. On Thursday, the social media behemoth’s shares dropped 2.7%
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg broke his silence over the news, telling media outlets it had been "a major breach of trust, and I'm really sorry that this happened."
Stocks hit their lows of after The New York Times reported John Dowd resigned as Trump's lead lawyer in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.
Stocks were also pressured as the Trump administration was set to announce later on Thursday tariffs designed to punish China for intellectual property theft. Some reports indicate the administration will slap $50 billion in tariffs to Chinese goods.
Investors also digested the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy decision. As widely expected by the markets, the Fed raised interest rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday and upgraded its economic outlook, saying that economic activity and jobs gains had been strong in recent months.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note grew sharply to lower yields to 2.83% from Wednesday’s 2.89%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices ducked lower 96 cents a barrel to $64.21 U.S.
Gold prices gained $7.10 to $1,328.60 U.S. an ounce.
