Markets in Toronto opened sharply lower on Monday amid worries surrounding China's banking sector and the U.S. Federal Reserve's suggestion that it could begin scaling back its monetary stimulus later this year.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 210.22 points, or 1.8%, to begin the day and the week at 11,785.44
Barrick Gold Corp will lay off up to a third of its corporate staff at its headquarters in Toronto and other offices, as the world's top bullion producer intensifies a downsizing plan amid a slump in the price of gold. Barrick shares hurtled earthward 77 cents, or 4.4%, to $16.94
Canaccord Genuity started with a buy rating on Halogen Software Inc. harbouring the opinion that the company is very well-positioned to benefit from an accelerating shift in the middle market towards Talent Management software tool adoption. Halogen shares ducked 45 cents, or 3%, to $14.30.
CIBC raised the target price on New Flyer Industries Inc. to $11 from $10, says the company's acquisition of North American Bus Industries Inc from Cerberus Capital Management could prove favourable. New Flyer gained 15 cents to $10.45.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange let go of 8.17 points to 887.62
All 14 Toronto subgroups were again negative, weighed mostly by metals and mining, tanking 4.4%, gold, off 3.2%, and materials, losing 3.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks got off to a rough start Monday as persistent worries about the Federal Reserve easing up on stimulus were exacerbated by a plunge in Chinese stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrials flopped 209.90 points, or 1.4%, to 14,589.50
The S&P 500 index fell 27.23 points to 1,565.20. The tech-rich NASDAQ Composite dumped 49.23 points to 3,308.02
Despite the recent selling, stocks are still way up for the year. The Dow, S&P 500 and NASDAQ have gained between 9% and 11% since the start of January.
Shares of Vanguard Health Systems surged almost 70% after inking a $1.8-billion U.S. acquisition deal with Tenet Healthcare Corp.
The People's Bank of China told the country's largest banks Monday to rein in risky loans and improve their balance sheets, a warning that sent a jolt through already unsettled equity markets.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury against tumbled, boosting yields to 2.60% from Friday’s 2.52%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices inched up five cents to $93.74 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped six dollars to $1,285.60 U.S. an ounce
