Markets in Toronto fell to their lowest in two-and-a-half weeks on Tuesday as shares of energy producers dropped after the price of oil tested new lows on concerns about oversupply.
The S&P/TSX composite index stumbled 182.44 points, or 1.3%, to greet noon at 14,210.26
The Canadian dollar settled 0.34 cents to 84.69 cents U.S.
Oil prices touched a five-and-a-half-year low, down about 55% since June. Shares of energy companies have lost more than a third of their value during this time.
Among shares of energy producers, Suncor Energy shed 1.3% to $35.26, and Canadian Natural Resources fell 0.7% to $33.55.
Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, gave back ground, as Toronto Dominion Bank declined 1.3% to $53.26, and Bank of Nova Scotia was down 1.9% at $63.09.
The negative sentiment for equities drove the bullion price higher, sending shares of gold miners markedly up. Goldcorp jumped 6% to $23.53, and Barrick Gold added 2.7% to $13.16.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported this morning that its Industrial Product Price Index dropped 0.4% in November, mainly because of lower prices for energy and petroleum products.
The agency’s Raw Materials Price Index declined 5.8% in November, mostly due to lower prices for crude energy products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange shed 8.14 points to 665.85
All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups were negative, weighed mostly by consumer staples, down 3%, followed by energy, off 2.3%, and financials, sliding 1.9%.
The three gainers were gold, soaring 6%, materials, better by 2.7%, and real-estate, up 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks dropped sharply on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 falling below 2,000 for the first time in nearly four weeks, as investors fretted the implications of crude's failure to find a floor.
The Dow Jones Industrials dumped 168.42 points, or nearly 1%, to 17,333.23, with JPMorgan Chase pacing losses that included 22 of 30 components.
The S&P 500 dropped 20.36 points to 2,000.22, with energy and industrials hardest hit among its main sectors.
The NASDAQ index fell 86.34 points to 4,586.34.
AOL rallied after Bloomberg cited people familiar with the matter in reporting Verizon Communications had approached the search engine about a potential deal or joint venture.
Economically speaking, factory orders fell 0.7% in November versus a forecast of a 0.8% dip.
The Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing index declined to 56.2 last month from 59.3 in November.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries hiked, lowering yields to 1.92% from Monday’s 2.04%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell $2.08 per barrel to $47.96 U.S.
Gold prices spiked $16.70 an ounce at $1,222.70 U.S.
