The Toronto stock market sold off Wednesday as worries about the pace of global growth raised concerns about demand for commodities and sent prices for energy and metals lower.
The S&P/TSX index dipped 172.76 points, or 1.4%, to close Wednesday at 11,947.16
The Canadian dollar ducked back 0.49 cents at 97.42 cents U.S.
The base metals component declined, as copper, viewed as an economic bellwether, slid 12 cents to $3.19 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources fell $1.34, or 5%, to $25.41 while First Quantum Minerals declined $1.61, or 9.5%, to $15.42.
Both oil and copper sustained steep declines on Monday after data showed that the Chinese economy grew at a 7.7% rate in the most recent quarter, crushing hopes for growth of around 8%.
On Wednesday, China’s government promised steps to boost domestic consumption as a driver of the economy.
Further prospects for a sluggish recovery sent energy prices down. Suncor Energy shed 43 cents to $27.98 and Cenovus Energy was down 74 cents at $28.70.
The gold sector was down as bullion prices failed to find traction after a modest gain on Tuesday.
Barrick Gold Corp. fell $1.17, or 6.1%, to $18.07. Barrick’s stock price has plunged by almost a third since April 5, partly because of falling gold prices but also after a Chilean court last week ordered a halt to construction of the miner’s $8-billion Pascua-Lama project on environmental concerns.
Iamgold faded 27 cents, or 5.3%, to $4.79.
But it wasn’t just resource stocks giving back gains — blue chips also sold off with the financials sector down. Scotiabank gave back 81 cents to $56.89.
The industrials component backed away as Canadian Pacific Railway dropped $2.04 to $121.80.
On the economic front, the Bank of Canada today announced that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 1%. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 1 ¼% and the deposit rate is 3/4 of 1%.
The central bank also cut its 2013 economic growth forecast to 1.5% from an earlier estimate of 2%
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange capsized 38.30 points to 921.70
All but one of the 14 Toronto subgroups were down on the day, weighed mostly by metals and mining stocks, down 7.6%, global base metals, sliding 4.7%, and gold, trailing Tuesday’s close by 4.5%.
Only a 0.4% surge by consumer staples salvaged something for the index.
ON WALLSTREET
Investors rushed for the exits Wednesday as disappointing earnings sparked a broad selloff.
The Dow Jones Industrials Average lost 138.19 points to end the day at 14,618.60
The S&P 500 index subsided 20.60 points to 1,553.97. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite retreated 58.96 points to 3,204.67.
Wall Street is in the throes of earnings season and this week's reports have been less than stellar.
Bank of America was the biggest drag on the Dow, after it missed first-quarter earnings estimates, despite an uptick in revenue. Higher investment banking revenue was offset by lower mortgage banking income.
Other bank stocks followed Bank of America's lead, with shares of JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs all down more than 3%.
Meanwhile, a disappointing quarterly report from chip maker Cirrus Logic, a major Apple supplier, pushed Apple shares below $400 U.S. to a new 52-week low.
Shares of Yahoo lost ground, one day after the company reported weak first-quarter sales and issued a downbeat outlook.
Intel shares bounced back after earlier losses, following the company reporting earnings and sales in line with expectations. The company reported another decline in chip sales for PCs, however, with revenue from that business falling 6% compared to a year earlier.
On the flipside, shares of toymaker Mattel shot up Wednesday after it reported that its first-quarter net profit more than quadrupled.
Fairway Group Holdings, the parent of Fairway Market, priced an initial public offering at $13 U.S. a share -- above its estimated range. Shares, which started trading Wednesday under the ticker FWM, rallied nearly 31%.
American Express and eBay are due to report results after the close.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 1.70% from Tuesday’s 1.72%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slipped $1.98 to $86.74 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices fell $14.90 to $1,372.50 U.S. an ounce
