Equities in Canada’s biggest market fell on Thursday as lower oil prices weighed on energy stocks, while financial issues also fell as global shares dipped and investor appetite for risk weakened.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 80.88 points to approach noon at 13,266.58
The Canadian dollar slid 0.38 cents to 76.01 cents U.S.
The most influential movers on the index included Toronto-Dominion Bank, which fell 1.1% to $54.32, and Manulife Financial, which declined 3% to $17.50.
Among energy plays, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd declined 2.2% to $34.24, while Suncor Energy was down 1.2% at $35.31.
Barrick Gold Corp rallied 4.6% to $19.12, while Kinross Gold was up 7.5% at $5.02.
The shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc rose more than 8% to $48.40. The company said its lenders had agreed to give it an extra month to file its annual report, providing further reassurance to investors as the company attempts to win back their confidence
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported building permits for February grew to $7.4 billion in February, up 15.5% from January.
The agency says this growth followed a 9.5% decline the previous month and was largely the result of higher construction intentions for commercial buildings in Alberta, single-family dwellings in Ontario and institutional structures in Quebec
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange popped 6.41 points to 593.79
Nine of the 13 TSX subgroups were lower, with metals and mining stocks tumbling 7.6%, information technology off 1.8%, and energy fading 1.5%.
The four gainers were led by gold, up 3.6%, health-care, ahead 1.2%, and materials, up 1.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded appreciably lower or more Thursday as continued strength in the yen against the U.S. dollar renewed concerns about global growth and the effectiveness of central bank policy
The Dow Jones Industrials remained down 138.61 points to 17,577.44, with Verizon leading decliners and McDonald's and United
Technologies the only advancers.
The S&P 500 subtracted 17.6 points to 2,049.06, as techs and financials weighed
The NASDAQ index lost 55.96 points to 4,864.75, as Apple declined
Stateside, weekly jobless claims came in at 267,000. Consumer credit numbers are due in the afternoon.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained, lowering yields to 1.7% from Wednesday’s 1.75%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices sagged 81 cents a barrel to $36.94 U.S.
Gold prices leaped $16.82 to $1,239.29 U.S. an ounce.
