Losses for stock markets in Toronto were down by mid-afternoon Monday. But sentiments were still crushed by the recent stock market crash in China, and by losses among gold and metals stocks.
The S&P/TSX composite index dumped 420.93 points, or 3.1%, to close the day’s trading at 13,052.74 after opening losses of 5%, its biggest decline since the financial crisis in 2009.
Among gold stocks – the hardest hit of the bunch – Centerra Gold stumbled 94 cents, or 12.5%, to $6.61, while Kinross Gold got smacked 28 cents, or 10.3%, to $2.44.
The metals and mining section also got tagged, as Capstone Mining capsized seven cents, or 10%, to 63 cents, while HudBay Minerals took it on the chin 51 cents, or 7.9%, to $5.99.
Also taking big losses were utilities, most especially, Canadian Utilities, off $2.25, or 6.5%, to $32.19, while ATCO Ltd. swooned $2.32, or 6.1%, to $35.45.
Bombardier was the most actively traded stock, diving 18 cents, or nearly 14%, to $1.11, on 25.3 million shares.
Chinese stocks tanked on Monday when Beijing failed to intervene over the weekend as some had hoped, triggering panic selling around the globe. The CBOE Volatility Index, a key measure of U.S. equity volatility, surged above the 50 mark for the first time since the financial crisis in 2009.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange plunged 18.88 points, or 3.5%, to 518.64.
All 14 TSX subgroups were lower on the day, as gold plunged 6.1%, metals and mining dipped 5.9%, and global base metals plummeted 5.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks plunged on Monday, closing off session lows in high volume trade as fears of slowing growth in China pressured global markets.
The Dow Jones industrial average collapsed 588.47 points, or 3.6%, to close at 15,871.28
The Dow ended nearly 600 points lower after trading in wide range of between roughly 300 to 700 points lower in the minutes leading up to the close.
In the open, the index fell as much as 1,089 points, making Monday's move its biggest intraday swing in history. In midday trade, the index pared losses to trade about 110 points lower.
The blue-chip index posted its biggest three-day point loss in history of 1,477.45 points.
The S&P 500 gave back 67.99 points, or 3.5%, to 1,902.90, off session lows of about 104 points lower but still in correction territory after the tech sector failed intraday attempts to post gains.
The NASDAQ index fell back 148.06 points, or 3.2%, to 4,557.98. Apple traded more than 1.5% lower after reversing losses to briefly jump more than 2%.
No major economic data or earnings releases were due Monday.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries were still positive, lowering yields to 2.02% from Friday’s 2.05%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost $2.19 a barrel to $38.26 U.S.
Gold prices lurched lower $6.60 to $1,153.00 U.S. an ounce.
