Markets in Canada’s biggest centre fell on Thursday as consumer staples stocks provided the biggest drag amid broad-based losses ahead of the New Year's Day holiday on Friday.
The S&P/TSX composite index plummeted 101.42 points to greet the final noon hour of 2015 at 13,034.87.
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.1 cents to 72.13 cents U.S.
Among consumer staples, the biggest tumbler, Metro Inc. lost 76 cents, or 1.9%, to $39.17.
In the financial sector, Royal Bank of Canada fell 1.4% to $74.54, while Toronto-Dominion Bank was down 1.2% at $54.33.
Railway stocks also headed lower, including a 2% drop in Canadian National Railway to $76.80.
Air Canada fell 0.5% to $10.17. Turbulence on one of the airline's flights from China injured multiple passengers on Wednesday, forcing it to land in Calgary.
The resource-linked market is on track to fall 11% in 2015, pressured by the steep drop in crude oil prices. For the holiday shortened week, it has fallen 2.2%.
The materials group fell, including a 2.1% drop in Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc to $23.72.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange squeezed up 0.01 points to 520.87
All but one of the 13 TSX subgroups were lower, as consumer staples hurtled lower by 1.4%, information technology was down 1.3%, and financials slid 1.2%
The lone gainer was in energy, up 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded lower Thursday, the last day of trade for 2015, as investors eyed oil prices.
The Dow Jones industrial average plummeted 40.37 points to 17,563.30, with Apple, Coca-Cola and Microsoft leading all constituents lower.
The S&P 500 lost 7.75 points to 2,055.61, to fall back into negative territory for 2015 in intraday trade as nearly all 10 sectors declined.
The NASDAQ index dropped 14.7 points to 5,051.15.
With Thursday morning's decline, the major U.S. averages are on track for slight weekly losses.
Trade volume so far this week has been among the lowest of the year, and will likely remain thin Thursday ahead of Wall Street's closure on Friday for the New Year's Day holiday.
As of Wednesday's close, the S&P 500 was up 0.2% year-to-date and the NASDAQ was up nearly 7% for the year so far. The Dow was down 1.2% for 2015
In a light day of economic news, the Chicago Purchasing Managers' Index came in at 42.9 for December.
U.S. weekly jobless claims came in at 287,000, up from 267,000 the week before.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury backtracked, raising yields to Wednesday’s 2.29%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices recovered 73 cents a barrel to $37.33 U.S.
Gold prices lost 44 cents to $1,061.00 U.S. an ounce.
