Bay Street stocks have backed off a 14-month closing high amid weakness in the resource sectors. Traders showed some jitters ahead of key employment reports.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 143.18 points to end the day at 11,636.55.
Mining stocks were down after data from the U.S. showed activity in the service sector unexpectedly contracted in November. FNX Mining led the decliners with a 1.9% drop to $11.54.
Teck Resources lost 1% to $37.53 after being downgraded to "sector perform" from "outperform" at RBC Capital Markets. However, the stock's target price was raised to $37 from $35.
Gold stocks were down as the precious metal has retreated from a record high. New Gold lost 5.5% to $4.15 and Iamgold slid 5.3% to $20.21.
Goldcorp lost 1.3% to $47.56 despite being upgraded to "buy" from "neutral" at UBS.
Utilities stocks gained, as Canadian National Railway went down 0.8% to $55.70 after the company said that it has reached an agreement to end the strike by locomotive engineers immediately.
Bombardier lost 2.6% to $4.57 after the company reported third-quarter net income of Bombardier was $167 million U.S. or $0.09 U.S. per share, compared to $222 million U.S. or $0.12 U.S. per share last year.
Westjet slipped 2.1% to $11.69 after the company said November traffic results with a load factor of 75.9%, was down slightly from last year's record level of 76.1%.
In the financial realm, Toronto-Dominion dropped 2.6% to $66.02 after the company reported fourth quarter net income of $1.010 billion, compared to $1.014 billion last year. The results topped the expectations of analysts.
National Bank plummeted 6.1% to $60.68 after missing expectations in the fourth quarter. The company announced fourth-quarter net income of $225 million compared to $59 million in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce climbed 2% to $69.85 after the company reported that its fourth-quarter net income was $644 million, up from $436 million for the fourth quarter of 2008.
The Canadian dollar slid 0.34 cents to 94.78 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
All but one of the 14 TSX subgroups finished the day in the red. Gold was off 2.1%, materials skidded 1.9% while metals and mining stocks dropped 1.5%.
Utilities was the only stalwart, gaining 0.6%.
The TSX Venture Exchange had given back 0.18 points to 1,461.61 while the Nasdaq Canada index backtracked 13.25 points to 658.68.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks tumbled Thursday, ending a choppy session with losses as investors geared up for Friday's November jobs report and mulled the latest economic news and Bank of America's plan to pay back the government $45 billion U.S. in aid and the latest from Washington.
The Dow Jones Industrials fell 86.53 points to 10,366.15, while the S&P 500 was off 9.32 points to 1,099.92, and the Nasdaq dumped 11.89 points to 2,173.14.
Stocks gained in the early going, with Bank of America's news lifting the broader financial sector, but the financial sector turned mixed and the advance lost steam as the session wore on.
After watching the market rally more than 60% of the March 9 lows, many investors are now hunkering down in the last weeks of the year.
GE and cable operator Comcast confirmed long-running speculation that the two companies would strike some sort of deal. They said they plan to form a joint entertainment company that would be worth $37.25 billion U.S. and give Comcast eventual control of NBC Universal.
The joint venture will be 51% owned by Comcast and 49% owned by GE, the companies said, and will be comprised of NBC businesses and Comcast's cable networks.
On the economic front, the Labor Department said that the number of people filing first-time unemployment claims fell last week to 457,000, its lowest level since September 2008.
That was better than expected as economists were expecting that number to climb to 480,000, up from 466,000 in the previous week.
Things appeared a bit grimmer on the retail front, however, as same-store sales fell for many retailers, particularly specialty stores, in November. Many companies had hoped Thanksgiving weekend sales would provide a boost to sagging sales.
Sales for the month of November failed to benefit from a decent Thanksgiving weekend, according to reports released Thursday. Overall sales for the month of November rose just 0.5% versus forecasts for a 2.1% increase, according to Thomson Reuters.
On the upside, Nordstrom said sales rose 2.2% and Limited Brands, which owns Victoria's Secret and other chains, said sales rose 3%. Shares of both companies gained.
On the downside, clothing chain Abercrombie & Fitch said sales at stores open a year or more, or same-store sales, fell 17% from a year ago. Retailer Children's Place said same-store sales fell 13%, sending shares down 10%.
In Washington, the Senate Banking Committee held a confirmation hearing on Ben Bernanke's second term as Federal Reserve Chairman.
Although Bernanke is widely expected to get the go-ahead to serve a second term, some Senators have been critical of the span of the Fed's power.
Treasury prices slipped, boosting the yields on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.37% from Wednesday’s 3.31%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil gave back 14 cents to 75.96 cents U.S.
Gold prices gained another $5 to $1,218 an ounce U.S., yet another record high.
