The Toronto Stock Exchange fell below its lowest level in nearly two months on Thursday as financial and health care stocks lost ground and declining oil prices hit energy companies.
The S&P/TSX composite index dropped 214.75 points, or 1.6%, to close at 13,127.18. The index ran its losing streak to seven straight sessions.
The Canadian dollar dwindled 0.13 cents at 75.27 cents U.S.
The health -care sector dropped as Valeant Pharmaceuticals was off 6.2% to $98.14.
Finning International fell 5% to $19.00 as the Caterpillar dealer said it would cut another 1,100 jobs in Canada and South America and close 11 Canadian locations due to weak sales.
Manulife Financial dropped 3.7% to $21.35 after Canada’s biggest insurer reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit on oil and gas investment losses.
On the economic scene, Statistics Canada was out this morning with its new housing price index for September edged up 0.1% in September, following a 0.3% increase in August.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 5.69 point, or 1.1%, to 522.73
All 13 TSX subgroups were lower on the day, as metals and mining collapsed 2.6%, energy weakened 2.3%, and consumer staples waned 2.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed more than 1% lower Thursday, pressured by sharp declines in oil prices, as investors eyed several speeches from Federal Reserve officials.
The Dow Jones industrial average dumped 254.15 points, or 1.4%, to 17,448.07, with Goldman Sachs contributing the most to declines.
The blue-chip index is on track for its worst week in 10. All three major averages are down more than 2% for the week so far.
The S&P 500 skidded 29.03 points, or 1.4%, to 2,045.97, ending in negative territory for the year for the first time since Oct. 22. The last time the index fell into the red for 2015 in intraday trade was on Oct. 27.
Energy traded about 2% lower as the greatest decliner in the S&P, which was lower for the sixth time in seven sessions.
The NASDAQ index dropped 61.94 points, or 1.2%, to 5,005.08. Netflix fell nearly 3.5%.
Macy's traded higher after posting its worst trading day since 2008 on Wednesday following mixed quarterly results.
Nordstrom is due to post quarterly results after the close.
Before the open, Kohl's reported third-quarter earnings that beat by six cents, on revenue that also exceeded consensus. The retailer said same-store sales rose 1%, topping expectations of 0.6%.
Thursday's session also featured several Fed speakers, including Fed Chair Janet Yellen, who delivered welcoming remarks at a conference in Washington, D.C., as investors continued to look for clues about the central bank's timing on hiking interest rates.
On the data front, weekly jobless claims came in at 276,000, unchanged week over week, but higher than the expected 270,000.
The September JOLTS report showed job openings were little at 5.5 million, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries were slightly lower, raising yields to 2.32% from Tuesday’s 2.33%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. The bond market in the U.S. was closed Wednesday for Veterans’ Day
Oil prices dipped $1.32 a barrel to $41.61 U.S.
Gold prices fell $2.03 to $1,084.23 U.S. an ounce.
