Investors betrayed nerves again Thursday, as the volatile stock markets again pointed south as resource issues faced downward pressure.
The TSX ended the day negative 188.09 points, or 1%, to 19,142,72
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.08 cents to 76 cents U.S.
Materials weighed the most on the market Thursday, with Ivanhoe Mines falling 52 cents, or 6.2%, to $7.92, while First Quantum Minerals boarded the “down” elevator $2.26, or 9.7%, to $20.98.
Energy stocks were also bruised, as Athabasca Oil gave back 15 cents, or 5.8%, to $2.44, while Secure Energy Services decreased 31 cents, or 5.4%, to $5.40.
Among gold stocks, Equinox Gold let go of 27 cents, or 5.9%, to $4.34, while Kinross Gold lost 22 cents, or 5.1%, to $4.09.
Consumer staples tried to reverse the downward trend, as Alimentation Couche-Tard gained $1.97, or 3.5%, to $58.41, while Empire Company hiked 62 cents, or 1.7%, to $38.03.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported building permits declined 6.6% in July to $11.2 billion, mainly due to the residential sector, which fell 8.6% to $7.6 billion. The non-residential sector also dropped slightly by 2.1%.
The S&P Global Canada Manufacturing PMI dropped to 48.7 from 52.5 in July. This reading missed the market expectation of 53.6 by a wide margin.
Meanwhile, federal Conservatives next month look set to embrace as leader Pierre Poilievre, a career politician who has promised to fire the central bank governor and promoted bitcoin as an inflation hedge.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 11.3 points, or 1.8%, to 627.14
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups lost ground, as materials fell 2.8%, energy faded 2.7% and gold dipped 2.4%.
Only consumer staples held out against the negative tide, picking up 1.4% on the day.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 ended the first day of September on a high note as traders looked forward to the jobs report Friday.
The 30-stock index overcame a 190-point deficit and charged ahead 145.99 points to close Thursday at 31,375.90.
The S&P 500 surged 11.85 points to 3,966.85. Both snapped a four-day losing streak.
The NASDAQ Composite still finished in the red, though, 31.08 points to 11,785.13, to post its first five-day losing streak since February.
All of the major averages are on track to finish the week lower. The Dow and S&P are set to post a roughly 2% decline, while the NASDAQ is on pace to end down more than 3.5%.
The Dow closed August down about 4.1%, while the S&P slipped 4.2%, and NASDAQ recorded a loss of 4.6%.
Nvidia shares also contributed to the losses, falling more than 8% after the chipmaker said the U.S. government is restricting some sales in China.
Weekly U.S. jobless claims fell to 232,000 for the week ending Aug. 27. That was weaker than economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected. It was also a decline from the previous period and the lowest level since June 25.
Treasury prices sagged, raising yields to 3.26% from Wednesday’s 3.19%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite direction.
Oil prices stumbled $3.22 to $86.33 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices decreased $20.30 to $1,705.90 U.S. an ounce.
