Canadian stock market got bruised soon after the opening on Thursday, after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke signaled a clearer timeline for the central bank to begin to curb its monetary easing policy.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index ditched 195.01 points, or 1.6%, to begin Thursday at 12,073.28
The Canadian dollar skidded 0.69 cents to 96.66 cents U.S.
Canaccord Genuity raised the rating on IBI Group Inc to hold from sell following recent share price depreciation. IBI shares dipped three cents to $1.80
Paradigm Capital raised the target price on Trinidad Drilling Ltd to $10 from $9.50 given the company's improved cash position and ongoing multiple expansion in the Canadian energy services sector. Trinidad shares closed Wednesday at $7.77, and have not budged since.
All sub-sectors were woozy to begin the day, with metals and mining stocks the worst off, most notably, Rio Alto Mining, stumbling 10.4% to $2.15, while HudBay Minerals lost 9.2% to $6.89.
Gold stocks were also sharply lower, Kirkland Lake Gold sinking 11.2% to $4.21 a share. Kinross Gold docked 5.7% to $5.34.
On the economic track, Statistics Canada reported that the number of people receiving regular Employment Insurance benefits in April was virtually unchanged at 521,600. Compared with a year earlier, the number of beneficiaries in April was down 4.7%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange swooned 19.46 points to 904.75
As indicated, all 14 Toronto subgroups went south, weighed mostly by metals and mining issues, off 5.8%, while gold ditched 4.9%, and materials skidded 4.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
Investors around the world continued to be spooked by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's comments about a potential exit strategy later this year.
The Dow Jones Industrials jettisoned 217.49 points, or 1.4%, to 14,894.70, after a similar 200-point-plus flop Wednesday.
The S&P 500 index fell 19.10 points to 1,609.83. The tech-rich NASDAQ Composite dumped 43.38 points to 3,399.82
Stocks sank Wednesday after Bernanke said the central bank could slow the pace of its bond-buying program later this year if the economy continues to improve.
Bernanke stressed that these plans will be adjusted if the recovery doesn't continue as expected, but that was no comfort to investors. The Dow and S&P 500 tumbled 1.4%.
On the corporate front, drugstore chain Rite Aid swung to a profit but revenue declined in the latest quarter.
Tech giant Oracle is up in the afternoon.
Thursday morning, the U.S. government said the number of jobless claims rose more than expected in the latest week. Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors was to publish its monthly report on existing home sales this morning, ditto, the Philadelphia Fed report.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, boosting yields to 2.39% from Wednesday’s 2.31%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped $2.66 to $95.58 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices collapsed $73 to $1,301 U.S. an ounce
