Canadian stocks retreated on Thursday as commodity-linked shares fell, while a batch of downbeat data raised concerns about the domestic economic recovery ahead of next week's federal election.
The TSX Composite dropped 111.53 points to enter noon hour EDT Thursday at 20,582.26
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.04 cents to 78.82 cents U.S.
Nuvei Corp rose $4.73, or 2.9%, the most on the TSX, to $169.00, after RBC raised the price target for the payment processing
firm's stock.
Endeavour Silver got rid of 48 cents, or 8.2%, to $5.41, and Fortuna Silver Mines doffed 43 cents or 7.5%, to $5.30, the biggest percentage losers on the TSX.
On thing macroeconomic Statistics Canada said foreign investors acquired $14.2 billion of Canadian securities in July, led by purchases of government debt securities. At the same time, Canadian investors reduced their holdings of foreign securities by $4.7 billion.
StatsCan also said wholesale trade fell for the second consecutive month, down 2.1% in July. This decline was due to a 12.4% decrease in sales of building materials and supplies.
Meanwhile, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said housing starts were 283,971 units in August 2021, down from 286,076 units in July 2021.
Elsewhere, Alberta introduced a vaccine passport system on Wednesday to combat a fourth wave of COVID-19 that is close to overwhelming the healthcare system, as Premier Jason Kenney apologized for mishandling the pandemic.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange subtracted 11.51 points to 893.19.
All but three of the 12 TSX were in minus country, with gold sliding 4.4%, materials skidding 3.3%, and energy off 1.2%.
The three gainers were real-estate, up 0.2%, industrials, eking up 0.1%, and consumer staples, a shade above breakeven.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped Thursday despite better-than-expected August retail sales, as the latest weekly jobless claims report pointed to a mixed economic picture.
The blue-chip average gave back 197.06 points to 34,617.33
The S&P 500 dumped 25.88 points to 4,454.82.
The NASDAQ Composite slumped 71.62 points to 15,088.91.
Mining names Freeport-McMoRan and Newmont were the biggest laggards on the S&P 500, Freeport down about 7% and Newmont staggering roughly 4%.
On the upside, Moderna shares rose after the company released more data on breakthrough COVID cases that supports the push for the wide use of vaccine booster shots.
August retail sales surprised the market and rose 0.7% from the month prior, the Census Bureau reported Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected a 0.8% month-over-month decline.
Meanwhile, the latest unemployment insurance weekly data showed 332,000 first-time jobless claims last week. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect a total of 320,000 initial claims.
History is also not on the market’s side as September tends to be a typically negative month for stocks. The S&P 500 has fallen 0.6% during the month on average since 1945, according to data from CFRA.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys subsided, raising yields to 1.33% from Wednesday’s 1.30%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices docked 49 cents to $72.12 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slipped $39.30 to $1,795.30 U.S. an ounce.
