Equities in Canada’s biggest market turned sharply lower Wednesday, stopping the best two- day advance in recent months, as oil led a selloff in commodities prices.
The S&P/TSX composite index moved earthward 172.24 points, or 1.3%, to close the session at 13,463.82, after a leap Tuesday of more than 160 points.
The Canadian dollar eked higher 0.06 cents to 74.91 cents U.S.
Energy stocks got bruised, to lead equities lower, on the eve of an OPEC meeting in Vienna. Encana took the worst blows, slumping 8% to $10.20, while Baytex Energy stumbled 5.7% to $5.47.
Suncor Energy fell 2.7% to $36.77, while Canadian Natural Resources declined 4.2% to $30.99.
Among financial plays, Royal Bank of Canada fell 0.01% to $76.87. Fiscal fourth- quarter profit rose 11% as a jump in trading revenue and a lower tax rate helped counter slowing earnings growth from Canadian banking and declines across other key businesses.
National Bank of Canada fell 0.5% to $43.91, after raising its dividend 3.8% amid an increase in fourth-quarter profit.
TD, CIBC and Canadian Western Bank report Thursday.
Barrick Gold fell 2.6% to $9.90, and Goldcorp declined 2.7% to $15.79.
Hydro One Ltd., which went public last month in Canada’s largest initial stock offering in 15 years, slumped after a provincial auditor’s report warned the power utility’s transmission system was increasingly unreliable and will cost the province billions to fix.
Shares of Hydro One dropped 3.9% to $21.95, compared with the company’s initial offering price of $20.50. The stock debuted at $21.50 a share Nov. 5.
The Bank of Canada announced this morning it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 0.5%. The central bank rate is correspondingly 0.75% and the deposit rate is 0.25%
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 5.9 points to end Wednesday at 514.53.
All 13 TSX subgroups were lower, as energy plummeted 3.5%, metals and mining got clipped 2.4%, and health-care was 2.2% to the bad.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed sharply lower, with selling accelerating in late afternoon trade after oil broke below $40 U.S. a barrel and there was more evidence of a weak manufacturing sector in the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book.
The Dow Jones industrial average collapsed 158.67 points to close Wednesday at 17,729.68, falling back into negative territory for the year in intraday trade.
Energy stocks proved the biggest anchors on the big board as Chevron, Exxon Mobil tumbled, along with Goldman Sachs.
The S&P 500 slumped 24.53 points, or 1.2%, to 2,078.10, with energy leading all 10 sectors lower.
The NASDAQ index plunged 36.06 points to 5,120.24, the tech-heavy index attempting to hold slight gains as shares of Apple struggled for gains and Qualcomm traded higher.
Qualcomm traded about 6% higher after news the chipmaker entered a 3G/4G licensing agreement with Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi.
Yahoo traded more than 5% higher after the Wall Street Journal reported the company's board will discuss selling the flagship internet business, how to maximize the value of its stake in Alibaba, and consider the future of CEO Marissa Mayer at meetings this week.
The selloff began after Fed Chair Janet Yellen reaffirmed the case for a rate hike at the Fed's Dec. 16 meeting but reiterated that the decision will be data dependent.
An SEC filing showed billionaire investor David Tepper's Appaloosa Management has taken a 9.25% stake in TerraForm Power, and is considering potential claims over its relationship with parent SunEdison.
The U.S. central bank's Beige Book showed economic activity grew at a "modest pace" in most regions. Stocks turned lower as the 2 p.m. release of the data approached.
Ahead of Friday's November jobs report, ADP data showed November private payrolls topped expectations at 217,000.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury dipped, raising yields to 2.18% from Tuesday’s 2.15%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slipped $1.72 a barrel to $40.13 U.S.
Gold prices slid $16.24 to $1,053.05 U.S. an ounce.
