Canadian stocks fell on Thursday, reversing a brief advance as gains in global markets evaporated amid the European Central Bank’s expanded stimulus efforts to combat deflation and an uncertain economic recovery in the region.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 13.76 points to close at 13,379.14
The Canadian dollar deducted 0.53 cents to 74.96 cents U.S.
Among banks, Toronto-Dominion Bank fell 27 cents, to $54.61, and Bank of Nova Scotia lost 25 cents to $61.56, as the S&P/TSX Banks Index snapped its longest winning streak since November.
Penn West Petroleum Ltd. sank 20 cents, or 12.7%, to $1.38, after the company said it was exploring options on default risk as it doesn’t see compliance with existing covenants by the end of the second quarter.
Empire Co. plunged $3.94, 14.7%, to $22.83, the lowest since June 2014, after the owner of the Sobeys and Safeway brands in Canada reported sales and profit short of analyst expectations. Empire took a writedown of about $1.7 billion on goodwill and long-lived assets in its West business unit, primarily due to challenges facing its Safeway brand
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reports its new housing price index rose 0.1% in January, following an identical increase in December.
The agency says the advance was led by higher new home prices in Vancouver and the combined region of Toronto and Oshawa. The increase was largely moderated by lower or unchanged prices in two-thirds of the metropolitan areas.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange remained positive 4.9 points to 574.52
Nine of the 13 TSX subgroups were off on the day, with consumer staples down 1.4%, industrials off 1.1%, and information technology sliding 1%.
The four gainers were led by gold, up 4.7%, while materials and the metals and mining groups were 2.9%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks in New York were somewhat mixed at Thursday’s close, under pressure from low oil prices and concerns about the effectiveness of monetary policy following the morning's announcements from the European Central Bank.
The Dow Jones Industrial average came back from deep within negative territory, but finished to within 5.23 points of breakeven to 16,995.13. Microsoft and Home Depot the greatest contributors to declines and Merck leading three advancers.
The S&P 500 squirted higher 0.31 points to 1,989.57. Telecommunications and materials led advancers in the S&P 500 in afternoon trade.
The NASDAQ index dropped 12.22 points to 4,662.16.
In U.S. economic news, weekly jobless claims declined 18,000 to a seasonally adjusted 259,000 for the week ended March 5, the lowest reading since mid-October, the U.S. Labor Department said.
The prior week's claims were revised to show 1,000 fewer applications received than previously reported.
ECB President Mario Draghi also surprised markets, however, by saying he didn't anticipate a need to reduce rates further, although new facts can change the situation
Prices for the 10-year Treasury faded, raising yields to 1.93% from Wednesday’s 1.88%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices docked 34 cents a barrel to $37.95 U.S.
Gold prices improved $18.01 to $1,271.24 U.S. an ounce.
