Canada's main stock index lost ground on Thursday, as optimism over strong corporate earnings was offset by a drop in oil prices on concerns the spread of the Delta coronavirus variant would dampen the recovery of global fuel
demand.
The TSX/S&P Composite thundered lower 89.55 points to begin Thursday at 20,464.46
The Canadian dollar gave back 0.10 cents to 79.85 cents U.S.
Canaccord Genuity cut the rating on BSR REIT to hold from buy. BSR units lost seven cents to $19.02.
National Bank of Canada cut the rating on New Gold to sector perform from outperform. New Gold shares ditched a nickel, or 3.1%, to $1.58,
Canaccord Genuity cut the rating on Standard Lithium to hold from speculative buy. Standard shares dropped 20 cents, or 2%, to $9.80.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange inched up 0.07 points to 924.15.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower, as gold dipped 1.2%, utilities 0.7%, while health-care stocks faded 0.5%.
Only real-estate gained ground, and only 0.2%, Consumer discretionary stocks were unchanged at the open.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded mostly flat on Thursday, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to notch a new intraday record as investors weighed hot inflation readings but improved jobless claims data.
The 30-stock index stumbled 68.48 points from Wednesday’s all-time record close to 35,416.49. Goldman Sachs was the best-performing stock in the Dow while Visa shaved off about 20 points.
The S&P 500 dropped 68.48 points to 4,437.93, from Wednesday’s all-time high. Among the S&P sectors, health care and financial outperformed with gains of about 0.2% each, while tech and consumer discretionary stocks lagged.
The NASDAQ dropped 53.85 points to 14,734.24.
Dow member Disney will report earnings after the closing bell. The shares, down slightly in 2021, were down 0.2% during the regular session. Micron shares fell 5% after Morgan Stanley predicted a slowdown in the memory chip market and downgraded the stock.
The U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday morning that initial jobless claims declined slightly last week as the U.S. labor market continues its recovery from last year’s recession. There were 375,000 claims last week, matching estimates. The prior reading came in at 385,000 claims.
The prices U.S. manufacturers and other businesses pay for labor, raw materials and other goods rose again in July. The government said its producer price index, excluding volatile food, trade services and energy components, rose 0.9% last month versus a forecast for a 0.5% gain.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys slipped, raising yields to 1.37”% from Wednesday’s 1.33%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped 28 cents to $68.97 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices fell 45.90 to $1,747.40 U.S. an ounce.
