Stocks in Canada’s biggest centre took a tumble Wednesday afternoon, as uncertainty over next week’s U.S. presidential elections played havoc with the moods of investors worldwide.
The S&P/TSX Composite took a header, losing 183.21 points, or 1.2%, to close Wednesday at 14,595.11
The Canadian dollar retreated 0.05 cents to 74.64 cents U.S.
Health-care stocks proved the biggest anchor on Wednesday, as the beleaguered Valeant Pharmaceuticals tumbled $2.84, or 9.1%, to $28.34.
Gold stocks also took their lumps, as Detour Gold got tagged $4.91, or 18.8%, to $21.23, while Iamgold Corporation shed 26 cents, or 4.7%, to $5.30.
In the materials sector, Teck Resources lost $1.35, or 4.7%, to $27.63.
Energy stocks also had a rough go of it, with Baytex Energy sliding 30 cents, or 5.6%, to $5.06, while TransCanada Corporation ditched $2.77, or 4.6%, to $57.82.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 9.45 points, or 1.2%, to 770.11
All 12 TSX subgroups were lower, with health-care ailing 3.2%, gold trailing 2%, and materials dropping 1.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities closed lower on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged, while worries surrounding the presidential election weighed on investor sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrials sank 77.46 points to close at 17,959.64, with Verizon leading decliners and 3M the top advancer.
The S&P 500 dropped 13.78 points at 2,097.94, posting a seven-day losing streak and closed below 2,100, with utilities and real estate falling more than 1% to lead decliners.
The NASDAQ composite index plummeted 48.01 points to 5,105.57
Meanwhile, earnings season continued on Wednesday, with Alibaba and Time Warner, among others, posting quarterly results.
With financial markets anticipating a rate hike before the end of the year, the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady again while continuing to acknowledge that the case for a move is getting stronger.
Federal Open Market Committee officials, however, made no direct nod to a coming rate increase at the December meeting, a move that the market is strongly anticipating. In fact, the dovish FOMC majority gained a vote.
In economic news, ADP said the U.S. economy created fewer jobs than expected in October, adding 147,000 jobs. ADP's report serves as a preview for the government's monthly non-farm payrolls report, slated for release Friday morning.
U.S. crude prices fell hard after the American Petroleum Institute reported a build in inventories of more than nine million barrels.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained, lowering yields to 1.8% from Tuesday’s 1.83%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices sank $1.17 to $45.50 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices hiked $9.80 to $1,297.80 U.S. an ounce.
