Stocks in Canada’s largest market fell in early trade on Thursday as a sharp decline in Chinese exports revived concerns about the health of the world's second largest economy.
The S&P/TSX Composite tumbled 145.79 points, or 1%, to open Thursday at 14,473.18
The Canadian dollar regained 0.09 cents to 75.41 cents U.S.
Desjardins raised the target price on Advantage Oil & Gas to $11.00 from $10.00. Advantage shares gained 17 cents, or 1.8%, to $9.78.
Barclays raised the target price on Sun Life Financial to $45.00 from $44.00. Sun Life shares plunged 69 cents, or 1.6%, to $42.74.
Barclays raised the target price on Manulife Financial to $20.00 from $19.00. Manulife shares dipped 40 cents, or 2.1%, to $18.87.
China's exports fell 10% in September from a year earlier, far worse than expected, while imports unexpectedly shrank after picking up in August.
Economically speaking here at home, Statistics Canada reported that its new housing price index rose 0.2% in August from July.
ON BAY STREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eked upward 1.04 points to 771.59.
ON WALL STREET
U.S. stocks traded sharply lower on Thursday as weak data out of China coupled with a possible Federal Reserve rate hike weighed on investor sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrials stumbled 172.26 points, or 1%, to 17,971.94, with Goldman Sachs contributing the most losses. The index also broke below the 18,000 mark and hit its lowest level since July 7.
The S&P 500 fell 20.48 points, or 1%, to 2,118.70, with financials sliding more than 1.5 percent to lead decliners
The NASDAQ Composite retreated 57.73 points, or 1.1%, to 5,181.29
Investors also kept an eye on quarterly corporate reports from U.S. firms, as earnings season begins to ramp up. Before the bell, Delta Air Lines reported mixed quarterly results, missing estimates on the top line while beating on the bottom.
On Friday, financial giants JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo will be reporting earnings. Wells Fargo announced Wednesday afternoon that John Stumpf would leave his post of CEO immediately, following Wells' cross-selling scandal.
In U.S. economic news, weekly jobless claims held at a 43-year low, while import prices rose less than expected in September.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury strengthened, lowering yields to 1.73% from Wednesday’s 1.77%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices sank 10 cents to $50.08 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices moved up $8.70 to $1,262.50 U.S. an ounce.
