Equities in Toronto opened lower on Thursday, hurt by declines in energy stocks, financials, and materials companies, which make up two-thirds of the index's weight.
The S&P/TSX composite index jettisoned 86.52 points to open Thursday at 15,068.16
The Canadian dollar moved backward 0.28 cents to 80.04 cents U.S.
The world's top 40 mining firms cut costs by a combined 5% and capital spending by 20% last year as they grappled with a plunge in prices that drove their market value to a 10-year low, auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers' annual survey showed.
Striking union workers at a joint BP Plc and Husky Energy refinery in Toledo, Ohio ratified a new contract on Wednesday and are due to return to work on Monday, four months after walking off their jobs, a refinery official said. Husky shares docked 32 cents, or 1.3%, soon after the open to $23.90.
SNC-Lavalin Group Inc said on Wednesday it is not for sale after a newspaper report citing unnamed sources said it had been "informally" approached by two possible buyers. SNC shares gained two cents to $46.53.
CIBC raised the price target on Air Canada to $18.50 from $17.50, with an outperform rating. Shares in the Maple Leaf airline hiked seven cents to $14.57.
CIBC started coverage on Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners with outperform rating. Brookfield units added five cents to $37.71.
Barclays raised the target price on Laurentian Bank of Canada to $49.00 from $48.00, with an underweight rating. Laurentian shares gained 42 cents to $49.30.
Economically speaking, Western University revealed that its Ivey Purchasing Managers Index stood at 62.3 last May, compared to 58.2 in April, and 48.2 in May 2014.
The index canvasses purchasing managers as to their spending habits over the previous month, whether they increased, decreased or stayed put. A figure above 50 shows an increase while below 50 shows a decrease.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange let go of 2.21 points to 689.24.
All but one of the 14 TSX subgroups were lower in the first hour of trading, with metals and mining slumping 1.6%, energy slouching 1.2%, and materials weaker by 1.1%.
Only information technology was positive, up 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded lower on Thursday as the recent bond selloff kept investors on edge in a quiet day of economic releases leading up to Friday's employment report.
The Dow Jones Industrials eked up 7.74 points to 18,084.01, with Apple and Microsoft leading a handful of advancers and Verizon leading decliners.
The S&P 500 index lost 9.08 points to 2,104.99, with telecommunications leading all 10 sectors lower.
The NASDAQ faded 12.68 points to 5,086.55.
In corporate news, Apple said it would clear most of watch backlogwithin two weeks and expanded the offering of the device to seven more countries. Earlier, The New York Times reported that, contrary to many expectations, the iPhone maker will not unveil a new Apple
TV box at the Worldwide Developer Conference next week.
L Brands, the Victoria's Secret parent, reported a same-store sales increase of 5% for May, above the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of a 2.8% increase.
Cybersecurity firm FireEye announced a partnership with Visa aimed at preventing hacking of payment data.
Five Below earned an adjusted eight cents per share for its latest quarter, one cent above estimates, with revenue also exceeding forecasts. The discount retailer also raised its outlook for the year, with sales up 22% over a year ago.
Satellite TV operator Dish Network is in talks to merge with T-Mobile US, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Before the bell, weekly jobless claims came in at 276,000, below expectations and last week's 282,000 figure. The report comes ahead of the May U.S. non-farm payrolls report on Friday.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained back lost ground, lowering yields to 2.32% from Wednesday’s 2.37%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped 80 cents a barrel to $58.84 U.S.
Gold prices demurred $6.80 at $1,178.10 U.S. an ounce.
