Canada's main stock index dropped sharply on Thursday, dragged by declines in every major sector, as sluggish data from Germany revived concerns about the global economic recovery.
The S&P/TSX composite index collapsed 205.87 points, or 1.4%, to close Thursday at 14,460.60.
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.51 cents at 89.51 cents U.S.
The benchmark TSX is down about 7% since hitting a record high last month.
Shares of energy producers decreased, reflecting a 1.1% drop in the price of U.S. crude oil. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd fell 70 cents, or 1.8%, to $39.06, and Suncor Energy lost 73 cents, or 1.9%, to $37.51.
Financials were down as Bank of Nova Scotia slipped 13 cents, or 0.2%, to $69.02.
In corporate news, Canadian Tire Corp said it will target average earnings per share growth of 8 to 10% between 2015 and 2017 under an "aggressive plan to compete". The stock jumped 3.1% to $120.67.
Ithaca Energy Inc tumbled 9.9%, to $1.73, after the company said it lowered its pro-forma production outlook for 2014.
Shares of diversified miner Teck Resources dropped $1.24, or 6.4%, to a five-year low of $18.09, after China, the world's top coal importer, said it will levy import tariffs on the commodity.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada said its new housing price index rose 0.3% in August, following no change in July. The increase was the largest since January and mainly the result of strong gains in Ontario and Alberta.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faded 11.85 points to 836.82.
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower, with metals and mining down 4.3%, while global base metals and gold each dipped 3.3%
The only gainers were real-estate, forging a gain of 0.3%, and telecoms, better by 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks tumbled Thursday, giving up all of the prior day’s big jump, which was the largest one-day advance of the year.
The Dow Jones Industrials plummeted 334.97 points, or 2%, to 16,659.25, after yesterday’s gain of more than 270 points.
The S&P 500 retreated 40.68 points to 1,928.21. The NASDAQ index dipped 90.25 points to 4,378.34.
PepsiCo Inc. shares rose 0.5%, with the beverage and snack giant reporting third-quarter profit and sales results that beat expectations.
Alcoa Inc. shares fell 4.4% in regular trading after the aluminum producer’s third-quarter earnings came in higher than Wall Street’s estimate.
Apple Inc. suppliers have delayed plans to mass produce a larger-screen tablet to early next year, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Carl Icahn’s promised letter to Apple arrived before the opening bell, as well; it was titled "Sale: Apple Shares at Half Price." Apple shares gained 0.6%.
Google Inc.’s tax deal in France is being challenged, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Shares fell 1.8%.
Market reaction to the weekly jobless claims ahead of the bell was muted. U.S. government data showed the number of people applying for unemployment benefits was below 300,000 for the fourth week in a row.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries were unchanged, keeping yields at Wednesday’s 2.33%.
Oil prices docked $1.96 to $85.35 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices surged $18.30 to $1,224.30 U.S. an ounce.
