The Toronto stock market fell slightly Thursday, as the Bank of Canada issued a warning over the country's housing market and high levels of consumer debt.
The S&P/TSX composite index doffed 16.72 points to greet noon Thursday at 14,875.41.
The Canadian dollar tacked on 0.15 cents to 92.17 cents U.S.
Health-care stocks weighed most heavily on the market by noon Thursday, as Valeant Pharmaceuticals dumped $3.54, or 2.6%, to $132.56
Base metals issues also took their knocks, as Teck Resources gave back 86 cents, or 2.9%, at $23.09.
Gold stocks provided a glimmer of hope, as Agnico Eagle Mines ballooned $1.11, or 3.2%, to $35.85 and Goldcorp advanced 67 cents, or 2.5%, to $27.02.
Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz lashed out at the United States for acting like a "schoolyard bully" on trade issues, and said he saw more promise in negotiating a bilateral deal with Japan than the more ambitious Trans-Pacific Partnership.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that its new Housing Price Index rose 0.2% in April, following identical increases in both February and March.
The Bank of Canada says in its latest semi-annual review that the housing market is showing signs of a soft landing, but it remains the biggest domestic risk facing Canada.
Although the probability of a sharp housing correction with prices is small, it says the consequences will be large for highly indebted households, some financial institutions and the economy in general.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 0.89 points to 990.09
All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower, with health-care stocks off 2.1%, global base metals settling 1.4%, and the metals and mining sector down 1.3%.
The three gaining sectors were gold, up 1.9%, energy, up 1.2%, and materials, ahead 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
All three U.S. indices were down in midday trading.
The Dow Jones Industrials fell 59.53 points to 16,784.35
The S&P 500 shed 6.78 points to 1,937.11, and the NASDAQ composite index remained negative 13.48 points to 4,318.45.
Shares of Lululemon plunged nearly 15% after the maker of yoga apparel lowered its earnings outlook for this year. The company's board also approved a plan to buy back $450 million U.S. worth of stock, but that didn't appear to be helping much.
Lululemon also announced that chief financial officer, John Currie, will retire at the end of this fiscal year. On Wednesday, Chip Wilson, the yogawear company's founder and largest shareholder, said he voted against the re-election of two of the company's board members.
Shares were trading around $38 on Thursday.
Shares of Tesla Motors gained after CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter that "some news" about the company would be coming soon.
Restoration Hardware shares soared almost 13% after the company reported earnings that beat analyst expectations. It's the latest luxury brand benefiting from increased consumer spending at the high end.
Twitter shares jumped over 4% after the social media company said its chief operating officer, Ali Rowghani, had resigned. Twitter has struggled -- it's down over 41% this year -- but several analysts upgraded the stock this week.
Infosys slid on news that a new CEO was appointed to lead the IT services company.
The U.S. government said retail sales rose 0.3% in May, falling short of what economists had forecast. Separately, the number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims rose more than expected, according to the U.S. Labor Department's weekly report.
Oil prices jumped more than 1% this morning after Islamist militants in Iraq took control of the nation's second-largest city. Crude futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange were trading above $106 U.S. per barrel, a high not seen since Sept. 2013.
The brazen attack by fighters from a group called ISIS is making commodity traders nervous as they consider how the turmoil could affect the country's large oil-producing areas.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries were higher, lowering yields to 2.62% from Wednesday’s 2.64%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices gushed $1.50 to $105.90 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices raced ahead $10.30 at $1,271.50 U.S. an ounce.
