Equities in Canada’s largest market dropped Thursday, as health-care stocks tumbled and investors digested the latest GDP numbers.
The S&P/TSX lost 217.28 points to trade at 18,861.36.
Gross domestic product rose 0.3% month-over-month in April Statistics Canada said Thursday. The April gain matched market expectations provided by TD Securities. On a one-year basis, GDP rose 5.0%. 13 of 20 industrial sectors expanded.
In corporate news -- shares in Colliers International Group Inc. gained 1.62 to $141.03 after it said it will acquire a 75% ownership stake in alternative real asset management company Versus Capital for an undisclosed price.
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.006 cents to 77.67 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange retreated 9.08 points to 617.26.
10 of the 12 TSX subgroups lost ground Thursday, with health-care down 4.13%, Gold off 3.99% and Material stocks lower by 3.64%.
On the upside -- Real Estate stocks gained 0.93% and Utility issues rose 0.13%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks in the U.S. fell sharply on Thursday, following a mixed trading day with the S&P 500 notching its worst first half in more than 50 years.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 253.88 points, or 0.8%, to 30,775.43. The S&P 500 slid nearly 0.9% to 3,785.38, and the Nasdaq Composite pulled back by 1.3% to 11,028.74.
Home retail stocks dragged the market lower as high-end furniture chain RH saw shares drop about 25%, after it issued a profit warning for the full year. Wayfair and Williams-Sonoma were also lower by 9.57% and 4.44%, respectively.
The core personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, rose 4.7% in May, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.
The Chicago PMI, which tracks business activity in the region, came in at 56, below estimates of 58.3.
Weekly initial jobless claims inched lower, falling 2,000 to 231,000 in the week ended June 25.
The benchmark 10-year note yields fell to 3.057%.
Oil prices fell in volatile trading on Thursday as concerns over global supply appeared to outweigh a build in U.S. fuel product inventories. Brent crude futures for September, were down $1.98, or 1.77%, at $109.78 a barrel.
August gold futures were last down $11.29 at $1807.53.
