Canada's main stock index tumbled to a three-month low on Thursday, dragged down by the material and financial sectors, as soft U.S. and European economic data dampened investor sentiment.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index backpedaled 103.95 points, to greet noon ET Thursday at 11,825.84, after Wednesday’s 200-point-plus loss.
The Canadian dollar was positive 0.07 cents to 99.70 cents U.S.
The materials sector, home to mining companies, dropped sharply, with Goldcorp Inc down 2.4% at $40.28 and Barrick Gold falling 1.4% to $33.52.
Energy services company Poseidon Concepts Corp lost more than half its value and was the single largest drag on the Toronto market. Its shares fell 56% to $5.8 1, after it posted weak results and cut its outlook.
The financial subgroup declined as the macroeconomic concerns hit markets. Bank of Montreal fell 0.9% at $57.17 and Fairfax Financial dropped 4.3% to $354.56.
However, Manulife Financial Corp shares rose three cents to $11.99. Canada's largest life insurer said it had promoted Paul Rooney, currently the head of the Canadian division, to chief operating officer.
Research in Motion shares rose 2% to $8.68, a day after its chief executive expressed confidence that a new line of BlackBerry 10 devices would offer long-term value for unhappy shareholders.
On the economic calendar, figures released this morning by Statistics Canada showed manufacturing sales advanced 0.4% to $49.8 billion in September. The gain reflected higher production in the aerospace product and parts industry and increased sales of primary metals.
The nation’s number crunchers said sales hiked in eight of 21 industries, representing just under half of Canadian manufacturing. They added sales of durable goods jumped 1.1% to $25.8 billion, while non-durable goods sales decreased 0.4% to $24.0 billion.
What’s more, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) revealed that national home sales activity and average price were little changed last month.
CREA stated that home sales settled 0.1% from September to October, with actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity down 0.8% from October 2011. The MLS® Home Price Index boosted 3.6% in October – making for its smallest gain since May 2011.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange staggered 27.24 points to 1,231.45
All but one of the 14 Toronto subgroups were still negative at noon. Gold tumbled 2.1%, while materials and the metals and mining subgroup each doffed 1.9%.
The lone gainer was information technology, clicking but 0.2% higher.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell Thursday, as investors weighed a bigger-than-expected jump in jobless claims and turmoil overseas.
The Dow Jones Industrials slumped 44.27 points to 12,526.70
The S&P 500 fell 6.71 points to 1,348.78, and the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 15.31 points to 2,831.50
BP agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges over the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and will pay $4 billion U.S. to resolve criminal charges.
Wal-Mart shares slid 4% after the retail giant's revenue fell short of forecasts, and the company cited currency fluctuations and "economic conditions," as negative factors impacting its sales.
Target shares rose slightly after the retailer reported earnings in line with forecasts, but missed revenue forecasts.
China's ruling Communist Party named its next seven leaders, the euro-zone officially entered a double-dip recession, and Israel launched a series of blistering air strikes Wednesday on what it said were terrorist targets in Gaza.
The euro-zone officially slipped into recession in the third quarter, as official figures showed growth among the 17 euro countries shrinking 0.1%. It's the second recession in the area since 2009.
But above all else in the United States, fiscal cliff fears remain a heightened concern for market participants.
President Obama met with CEOs Wednesday to discuss the fiscal cliff and is scheduled to meet with Congressional leaders Friday.
Economically speaking, the report on initial jobless claims showed the lingering effects of Superstorm Sandy in the Northeast: 439,000 people filed for their first week of unemployment benefits last week. That was much higher than the forecast of 388,000 in jobless claims and it is the highest jobless claims tally since the last week of April, 2011.
Meanwhile, the Consumer Price Index showed that inflation remained tame in October, ticking up 0.1% during the month, as expected.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's monthly manufacturing survey showed a drop in activity. Analysts had predicted that November manufacturing would stay flat.
Around 1:20 p.m. ET, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is due to deliver remarks on the housing market at an event in Atlanta.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 1.58% from Wednesday’s 1.59%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices retracted 47 cents to $85.85 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices subtracted $15.80 an ounce to $1,714.30 U.S.
