Equity markets in Toronto slipped on Thursday as telecom stocks weighed after Shaw Communications Inc said it planned to jump into wireless with a $1.6-billion bid for recent entrant Wind Mobile.
The S&P/TSX composite index plummeted 147.1 points, or 1.1%, to greet noon at 13,018.98
The Canadian dollar hurtled lower 0.98 cents to 71.57 cents U.S.
Shaw fell 8.3% to $24.74 as investors fretted about how it would finance the deal, while its main rival in Western Canada, Telus Corp, lost 7% to $37.79 on an expectation of intensified wireless competition.
Telecom companies with national wireless networks and landline assets focused more in the east of the country also slipped but less drastically, with Rogers Communications Inc off 3.7% at $48.40 and BCE Inc down 1.9% to $53.81.
The materials group was down 2.4% as prices for gold and a string of base metals fell on a stronger U.S. dollar after the U.S. Federal Reserve hiked rates for the first time in almost a decade.
Barrick Gold Corp fell 5.2% to $9.98, and Goldcorp declined 4.8% to $15.56, while diversified miner Teck Resources lost 3.9% to $4.46.
Copper declined 1.6% to $4,537.00 U.S. a tonne.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported that those Canadians drawing employment insurance benefits dipped 3,300, or 0.6%, in October from the month before, to 539,700
On a year-over-year basis, the agency says the total number of EI beneficiaries was up 40,900, or 8.2%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eked up 0.63 points to 498.84
All but three of the 13 TSX subgroups were lower midday. Gold dulled in price 5.2%, metals and mining lost 3.8%, and telecoms skidded 3.7%.
The three gainers were information technology, which progressed 0.7%, while industrials and real-estate each acquired 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded significantly lower Thursday as investors watched oil prices and economic data, after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday made the widely expected move of raising rates.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 122.87 points to 17,626.72. Goldman Sachs, IBM and Boeing were among the greatest weights on the index.
The S&P 500 dropped 21.39 points, or 1%, to 2,051.68. Energy fell more than 1% to lead all S&P 500 sectors lower in midday trade.
Financials was the second-greatest decliner, followed by materials.
The NASDAQ index gave back 34.23 points to 5,036.90.
Newmont Mining and Freeport-McMoRan led decliners in materials as gold traded more than 2% lower near $1,053 U.S. an ounce in midday trade.
General Mills fell a penny short of estimates with adjusted profit of 82 cents U.S. per share, with revenue also below estimates. General Mills saw revenue drop in all its retail categories, but the company did say its results are in line with its expectations.
Accenture missed estimates by four cents with quarterly profit of $1.28 U.S. per share, though revenue did beat forecasts due to growth at its consulting business.
Apple traded more than 1.5% lower after briefly attempting to trade higher.
In economic news, initial jobless claims came in at 271,000. The Philly Fed index for December was minus 5.9, the lowest of the year after a positive 1.9 print in November.
Leading indicators for November showed a 0.4% rise.
The U.S. Commerce Department reported that the country’s current account deficit in the third quarter increased 11.7% to $124.1 billion U.S, its highest level in nearly seven years, as a strong dollar weighed on exports and the profits of multi-national corporations.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 2.24% from Wednesday’s 2.29%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices doffed 83 cents a barrel to $34.69 U.S.
Gold prices dropped $20.38 to $1,051.94 U.S. an ounce.
