Equities ran out of air Wednesday, primarily due to heavy losses among health-care and tech stocks.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index slipped 39.02 points to close Wednesday at 15,217.33
The Canadian dollar sidled back 0.20 cents to 78.73 cents U.S.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc lost $1.58, or 9.4% to $17.89, after the company said its subsidiaries in Australia were the subject of a tax audit.
Shares in Aphria gave back eight cents, or 1.3%, to $5.91.
Supply chain software company Kinaxis Inc fell $13.19, or 16.6%, to $66.50 as several analysts cut their target prices and recommendations on the stock.
BlackBerry was reasonably well off, losing only four cents to $11.37
Energy stocks were on the downside, mostly Crescent Point Energy, pointed downwards 15 cents, or 1.6%, to $9.15, while Cenovus Energy shed 11 cents, or 1%, to $10.43.
Gold royalty and streaming company Franco Nevada Corp jumped $3.57, or 3.9%, to $95.65 after reporting quarterly results late on Tuesday.
Tahoe Resources Inc fell five cents to $6.55 after the miner said it would stop paying dividends and suspended overall guidance amid uncertainty about its operations in Guatemala.
Stella-Jones Inc rose $2.53, or 5.9%, to $45.44 after the wood products producer reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue.
Finning International vaulted $2.31, or 8.9%, to $28.16, after the heavy equipment company reported quarterly earnings that beat expectations and raised its dividend.
On the macroeconomic calendar, Statistics Canada reported Canadian municipalities issued $8.1 billion worth of building permits in June, up 2.5% from May and the second highest value on record.
The agency attributes the rise to higher construction intentions for multi-family dwellings and commercial buildings.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, meanwhile, said the trend in housing starts was 217,550 units in July, compared to 215,175 units in June.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange shed 2.44 points to 762.73
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were negative, with health-care plummeting 3.6%, information technology down 1.3%, and energy flailing 0.6%.
The three gainers were led by gold, up 1.8%, materials in the green 0.4%, and industrials stronger by 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities closed lower on Wednesday as U.S.-North Korean relations grew more intense.
The Dow Jones Industrials fell 36.64 points to 22,048.70, off its lows of the day, Walt Disney contributing the most losses.
The S&P 500 lost 0.9 points to 2,474.02, with utilities leading decliners.
The NASDAQ stayed negative 18.13 points to 6,352.33
President Donald Trump warned North Korea on Tuesday about facing "fire and fury" if North Korea delivers more threats against the U.S.
North Korea responded by saying it was "carefully examining" the idea of a missile strike on Guam, a U.S. Pacific territory.
Defense stocks spiked, with Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman all hitting record highs.
Wall Street also focused on corporate earnings from Disney. The company posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings but its sales missed expectations. The media giant's stock dropped approximately 4% and shaved off about 30 points from the price-weighted Dow.
Mylan Labs and Wendy's were among the companies that reported earnings before the bell Wednesday, with 21st Century Fox set to report after the close.
Calendar second-quarter earnings have been mostly strong. More than 70% of S&P 500 companies that had reported posted better-than-expected earnings while 69% have beaten of sales.
In economic news, productivity in the second quarter rose 0.9%, more than the expected gain of 0.7%. Mortgage applications rose by 3% last week, boosted by a drop in rates. Wholesale trade data showed inventories posted their biggest gain in six months.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note hiked sharply, dropping yields to 2.25% from Tuesday’s 2.27%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 39 cents to $49.56 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices jumped $19.10 to $1,281.70 U.S. an ounce.
