Equities in Toronto fell on Thursday as a buildup in U.S. crude inventories weighed on oil prices and shares of energy companies.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 37.39 points – off its lows of the morning -- to greet noon at 15,175.36
The Canadian dollar fell 0.26 cents to 80.03 cents U.S.
Shares of SNC-Lavalin Group tumbled 7.3% after the Canadian police laid corruption charges against the company and some of its units, in relation to their operations in Libya.
Base metals proved the champion Thursday morning, as Lundin Mining took on 12 cents, or 2.3%, to $5.38.
Financials declined as Toronto Dominion Bank shed 1.1% to $54.02, and Royal Bank of Canada gave back 1.1%to $75.95.
The energy sector was hit by a sizable drop in the price of U.S. crude oil. Suncor Energy lost 1.6% to $37.86, and Canadian Natural Resources declined 1.4% to $37.67.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada reported that those of us receiving regular employment insurance in December totaled 495,300, up 0.7% from the month before. Compared with December 2013, the number of beneficiaries fell 24,500 or 4.7%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faltered 5.06 points to 692.92
The 14 Toronto subgroups were evenly divided between gainers and losers. Metals led the more prosperous half, gaining 0.6%, while utilities and consumer staples each climbed 0.5%.
The seven laggards were weighed by energy, sliding 0.9%, while financials and industrials each surrendered 0.5%
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded mostly lower on Thursday after the S&P 500 touched on a new intraday record, amid lower oil prices and concerns about Greece.
The Dow Jones Industrials skidded 29.76 points to 18,000.09, with Boeing leading 13 blue chips higher and Wal-mart the greatest decliner.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.72 points to 2,098.96, after reaching a new all-time high above its intraday high of 2,101.30 touched on Tuesday, led by the consumer discretionary sector.
The NASDAQ index gained 18.10 points to 4,921.01, as Apple stayed near records
Wal-mart reported adjusted earnings that beat estimates and revenue that missed expectations. The retailer will give half a million employees pay raises.
Intuit, Nordstrom and Newmont Mining are all due to report earnings after the bell.
Weekly jobless claims came in less than expected at 283,000. The latest Philly Fed index showed the lowest reading since February last year.
The energy sector fell more than 1% before recovering on a report from the Energy Information Administration that showed crude oil inventories rose a more-than-expected 7.7 million barrels.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries eased, lifting yields to 2.08% from Wednesday’s 2.07%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slumped $1.94 per barrel to $51.13 U.S.
Gold prices improved $10.70 an ounce to $1,210.90 U.S.
