The Toronto stock market was lower Thursday, adding to steep losses of the previous session as further weak employment data raised worries about slowing U.S. economic conditions.
The S&P/TSX index dropped 59.07 points to end Thursday at 12,363.05
A pair of soft economic reports and growing geopolitical risks sent the main index tumbling 260 points on Wednesday, erasing TSX gains for the year.
The Canadian dollar was up 0.21 at 98.78 cents U.S.
The energy sector declined, as Cenovus Energy gave back 91 cents to $29.99 while Suncor Energy dropped 89 cents, or 3%, to $29.28.
Oil plunged after the U.S. Energy Department said crude oil supplies grew by 2.7 million barrels to 388.6 million barrels in the week ended March 29. The U.S. supply of oil is now 7.2% above year-earlier levels and the highest since July 27, 1990.
Financials were also down as Royal Bank shed 95 cents to $60.39 and Manulife Financial gave back 27 cents to $14.31.
Miners were in positive territory after leading the TSX lower Wednesday.
The gold sector was up after sliding almost 5% on Wednesday, as Goldcorp Inc. gained 31 cents, or 1%, to $31.95.
The base metals group was up while May copper shed early losses to gain two cents at $3.35 U.S. a pound following a five-cent slide. First Quantum Minerals gained 65 cents, or 3.6%, to $18.61.
On the corporate front, Lululemon Athletica Inc. shares gained $1.12 to $66.38 after it said Wednesday that its chief product officer is leaving the retailer, just weeks after it pulled its black Luon pants from store shelves because they were too sheer.
Meanwhile, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets has cut his rating on Lululemon to "sector perform" from "outperform" and cut his target price on the stock to $70 from $80, saying Waterson was instrumental in the design process at the company.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange stepped back 11.90 points to 1,026.72
The 14 Toronto subgroups were evenly divided between gainers and losers, gold leading the former group, charging ahead 2.2%, while metals and mining stocks picked up 1.8%, and materials progressed 1.7%.
The seven laggards were weighed mostly by energy stocks, tailing off 1.9%, financials, lowering by 1.4%, and utilities, off 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
A mixed bag of news from central banks around the globe prompted investors to tap on the brakes Thursday.
The Dow Jones Industrials picked up 55.76 points to 14,606.10.
The S&P 500 index added 6.28 points to 1,559.97. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite moved forward 6.38 points to 3,224.98.
Shares of Best Buy surged nearly 15%, after the retailer announced that it will feature boutique stores that sell Samsung products at more than 1,400 U.S. locations.
Lululemon Athletic said its chief product officer, Sheree Waterson, was leaving, effective April 15. The announcement comes after Lululemon issued a recall last month of unintentionally see-through yoga pants. Shares of the apparel maker moved higher
Shares of Carnival Corp. slumped more than 2%, a day after the troubled cruise liner's Triumph broke free of its dock in Mobile, Ala.
Facebook unveiled Facebook Home, a new Android smartphone interface at an event. Shares of the social network rose nearly 3%.
Among central banks, first out of the gate was Japan's central bank, which announced plans to expand its stimulus program in an effort to breathe life into the country's flagging economy.
The news was welcomed by investors. Japan's Nikkei reversed early losses and closed 2.2% higher, the yen weakened against the dollar and the yield on Japanese 10-year notes fell to their lowest level since 2003.
Then, the Bank of England left rates at 0.5% and maintained its asset purchasing program. And finally, the European Central Bank also kept rates steady at 0.75%.
ECB President Mario Draghi's comments were seen as leaving the door open to further stimulus but investors were disappointed that the ECB didn't do more in the face of weakening economic trends in the euro-zone.
On the economic slate, the U.S. Labor Department said that initial jobless claims rose to 385,000 last week. That's more than the 345,000 analysts had expected and comes one day ahead of the government's closely watched monthly jobs report. Economists expect 192,000 jobs to have been added in March, according to Briefing.com.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury gained, lowering yields to 1.77% from Wednesday’s 1.81%. Treasury prices yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell $1.01 to $93.24 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped off $11.50 to $1,553.80 U.S. an ounce.
