Stocks in Toronto came back from triple-digit losses, in anticipation of a news conference by U.S. Federal Reserve Chief Janet Yellen, and actually flirted with breakeven, but faded and fell short
The S&P/TSX composite index dropped 45.02 points to 13,338.67
The Canadian dollar gained 0.03 cents at 75.10 cents U.S, after hitting 11-year intraday lows far below the 75-cent mark.
Of the subgroups, health-care had the toughest time of it Thursday, with flagship firm Valeant Pharmaceuticals sinking $11.20, or 3.9%, to $278.56.
Industrials also lagged, with Bombardier off 14 cents, or 8.8%, to $1.45.
In the tech sector, BlackBerry sagged 22 cents, or 2.3%, to $9.36.
Among gold plays, Barrick Gold rallied 83 cents, or 10.5%, to $8.73, while Goldcorp hiked $1.23, or 7.4%, to $17.97.
Energy stocks also found their way back into positive country, what with Suncor gaining 29 cents, or 0.9%, to $34.37, while Peyto Exploration & Development peeked up 32 cents, or 1.1%, to $29.18.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eased 1.01 points to 544.20
All but four of the 14 subgroups were lower, as health-care swooned 3.4%, industrials were down 1.5%, and information technology sank 1.2%.
The four gainers were led by gold, up 6.6%, materials, up 3.2%, and energy inching up 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed lower Thursday as investors awaited a post-close speech from Fed Chair Janet Yellen.
The Dow Jones industrial average settled 78.57 points to 16,201.32. Caterpillar was the greatest weight on the index, closing nearly 6.3% lower on news the firm will cut up to 5,000 jobs by the end of 2016 and lowered guidance.
The S&P 500 wilted 6.48 points to 1,932.28. Utilities and energy led S&P 500 sector advancers.
The NASDAQ index fell 18.26 points to 4,734.48
The major averages more than halved losses in afternoon trade. Oil turned higher, helping stocks shake off pressure from declines in global markets overnight.
The health care sector, one of the better-performing sectors for the year, briefly turned negative for 2015 in intraday trade but held gains for the year in the close. Consumer discretionary is the only other positive sector year-to-date.
On the earnings front, Accenture reported quarterly profit of $1.15 U.S. per share, beating estimates by three cents, with revenue also above forecasts.
Nike, Bed Bath & Beyond, Jabil Circuit and Pier 1 Imports are all expected to come after the bell.
The Fed Chair speaks on inflation at a 5 p.m., ET, speech at the University of Massachusetts, where the audience will not be able to ask questions.
In morning U.S. economic news, durable goods showed a decline of 2%. Weekly jobless claims came in at 267,000.
August new home sales came in at 552,000.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries sparked, lowering yields to 2.13% from Wednesday’s 2.15%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 65 cents a barrel to $45.13 U.S.
Gold prices hiked $20.40 to $1,151.90 U.S. an ounce.
