North American stock markets are fluctuating wildly as investors become convinced that the European debt crisis will not be contained with Greece.
The S&P/TSX composite index sank 32.70 points to end the day at 11,842.43. The TSX had briefly plunged sharply, down 450 points for a few minutes, before recovering some ground.
Commodity stocks and currencies have suffered this week as investors lose faith in the euro and pile into the safe haven status of the U.S. dollar.
Barrick Gold rose 4.1% to $45.92 and Agnico-Eagle Mines added 4.1% to $66.47, as the price of bullion advanced towards $1,200 U.S. level.
The financial sector dropped, despite strong earnings reports from insurance giants Manulife Financial and Sun Life Financial.
Driven by strong sales of insurance and wealth products as well as gains from equity investments, Manulife swung to profit in the first quarter. The insurer earned $1.12 billion or $0.64 per share in the quarter, compared to a loss of $1.08 billion or $0.67 per share in the year-ago period.
Sun Life reported quarterly profit of $409 million, compared to a loss of $213 million a year ago, and earned $0.72 per share, topping Street estimates of $0.62 per share.
Shares of Manulife Financial rose 3.5% to $18.28 and Sun Life Financial added 2.2% to $29.75.
Canada's biggest lender, RBC shed 2.8% to $59.49 and BMO gave in 3.2% to $58.97.
Among energy stocks, Imperial Oil fell 0.7% to $40.37 and Encana trimmed 1.5% to $31.91.
Engineering and construction firm SNC-Lavalin Group lost 1.2% to $49.20. The Montreal-based company reported a first quarter profit that declined to $71.9 million from last year's $77.5 million, as revenues decreased to $1.4 billion from $1.6 billion.
Magna International, which reported a first-quarter profit of $223 million U.S. from a loss of $200 million U.S. last year, soared 14.7% to $73.74. The auto parts supplier also proposed a plan to put an end to its dual share structure, which could ease founder and chairman Frank Stronach's control over the firm.
Manitoba Telecom Services fell 3.2% to $30.74. The Winnipeg-based telecom network provider said its first-quarter profit declined to $20.4 million from $37 million, as revenues fell 6%. The company also declared a cash dividend of $0.65 per share, payable on July 15.
Space-technology company MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates, which reported a rise in first-quarter profit after markets closed Wednesday, rose 10.3% to $43.00.
In economic news, Statistics Canada said building permits increased 12.2% in March to $6.3 billion, after declining in the past four months.
Elsewhere, the Ivey Purchasing Managers Index, a key indicator of business conditions in Canada, increased to 58.7 in April from 57.8 in March, but fell short of consensus forecast for a reading above 59.
The Canadian dollar stumbled 2.13 cents to 94.92 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
With all the turmoil, the 14 TSX subgroups were evenly split between gainers and losers. Gold shot up 4%, followed by consumer discretionaries, ahead 1.9%, and materials, gaining 1.7%.
The laggards were weighed by metals and mining stocks, down 3%, global base metals, off 2.3%, and utilities, sliding 2.1%.
The TSX Venture Exchange backslid 34.46 points to 1,562.68, while the Nasdaq Canada index staggered 19.25 points to 735.68.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, in one of the most gut-wrenching hours in Wall Street history, the Dow plunged almost 1,000 points Thursday, before recovering some strength, as on a technical glitch in the trading of Procter & Gamble stock and fears about the European debt crisis spreading.
The Dow Jones industrial average plummeted 347.80 points, or 3.2% to 10,520.32
The S&P 500 index stumbled 37.75 points to 1,128.15. The Nasdaq composite index fell back 82.65 points to 2,319.64.
The selling was exacerbated by a huge drop in Dow component Procter & Gamble. There may have been technical glitches which caused it to plunge 37% in minutes. P&G's slump was responsible for 172 points of the 992.60 the Dow initially lost.
The Dow's previous biggest one-day point selloff on a closing basis was Sept. 29, 2008, when it fell 777.68.
Beyond the P&G glitch, the selling pressure of the last few days has been more technical than fundamental.
Experts told CNN that a glitch in the trading of Dow component Procter & Gamble played a role. P&G stock plunged as much as 37% during the selling before recovering.
Gold spiked above $1,200 U.S., the euro plunged to a more than one-year low against the dollar and oil prices fell, having already been vulnerable to the Gulf oil spill. Bond prices rallied, sending the corresponding yields lower as investors sought safety in government debt prices.
The CBOE Volatility index, Wall Street's so-called fear gauge, spiked to a fresh high above 36, according to early tallies, closing at the highest point in a year.
Here's a look at what was moving the market earlier.
Stocks have been sliding on and off for the last two weeks as investors mull the ramifications of the growing debt crisis in Europe. While European leaders have pledged to provide Greece with $146 billion U.S. in loans over the next three years, attempts by the nation to institute certain "austerity" measures to bring down the deficit have sparked riots and other violent outbursts.
Meanwhile, investors are concerned that the size of the bailout will make Europe less able to help Spain, Portugal and other debt-plagued nations. The so-called PIIGS also include Italy and Ireland.
He noted that the market hasn't had a correction -- technically defined as a selloff of 10% on a closing basis -- for at least 14 months.
The euro plunged to a fresh more than one-year low versus the dollar Thursday, pressuring dollar-traded oil prices. Oil prices and energy stocks were also vulnerable in the aftermath of the Gulf oil spill.
Economically speaking, the Labor Department reported that the number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell to 444,000 last week. That compared with the 440,000 estimated by economists and a revised 451,000 from the week before.
The report came one day before the government's closely watched monthly jobs report, which is forecast to show employers grew payrolls by 187,000 jobs in April, after a gain of 162,000 in March. The unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 9.7%.
A report on U.S. productivity showed modest gains in the first quarter, rising 3.6%.
Freddie Mac reported an $8-billion U.S. quarterly loss Wednesday and said it needs another $10.6 billion U.S. from the federal government.
Treasury prices went up sharply, lowering the yield on the 10-year note to 3.40% from Wednesday’s 3.55%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil fell $2.88 to $77.09 U.S.
Gold prices rocketed up $32 to $1,207 U.S. an ounce.
