Equities in Toronto took some shocks by lunch hour Wednesday, as gold miners and other materials stocks weighed with lower gold and other commodity prices, and insider trading charges sank Amaya Inc. shares.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 91.71 points to move into noon hour at 13,402.08
The Canadian dollar plummeted 90 cents to 75.76 cents U.S.
Barrick Gold fell 6.9% to $17.61, and Goldcorp was down 6.1% at $20.31.
Shares in Amaya, the gambling operator, fell 21.5% to $14.57, after its chief executive was charged with insider trading by Quebec's securities regulator.
The energy group retreated as oil prices fell after U.S. stock build data reinforced concerns about a global glut. Canadian Natural Resources fell 2.6% to $35.1.
The materials group, which includes miners and fertilizer companies, lost ground, as First Quantum Minerals faded 6.8% to $7.71 and Teck Resources dropped 5.2% to $10.56, as copper and other metal prices fell.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange erased 4.79 points to 579.09
Nine of the 13 TSX subgroups were negative by noon, as metals and mining stumbled 8%, gold stocks were off 2.8%, and materials swooned 2.5%.
The two gainers were consumer staples, gaining 0.9%, and health-care, eking up but 0.1%. Both the industrial and real-estate sectors were unchanged by noon hour.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded lower Wednesday, with energy stocks leading declines as traders viewed low oil prices and dollar strength.
The Dow Jones Industrials stayed negative 28.85 points to 17,553.75.
Nike was the greatest weight on the Dow, plunging more than 5% in morning trade after reporting earnings late Tuesday that beat expectations. UnitedHealth led advancers.
The S&P 500 shed 9.36 points to 2,040.44. Energy traded more than 1.5% lower to lead S&P 500 decliners.
The NASDAQ index fell 34.76 points to 4,786.90
In economic news, new home sales rose 2% in February to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 512,000 units.
Weekly mortgage application volume decreased 3.3% south of the border on a seasonally-adjusted basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained, lowering yields to 1.91% from Tuesday’s 1.94%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped $1.32 a barrel to $40.13 U.S.
Gold prices skidded $24.95 to $1,223.37 U.S. an ounce.
