Canada's main stock index fell sharply by the closing bell on Wednesday, investor sentiment having plummeted after the Bank of Canada raised its benchmark interest rate.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index sank 376.04 points, or 2.5%, to conclude Wednesday at 14,909.13
The Canadian dollar increased in price 0.24 cents to 76.77 cents U.S.
Health-care stocks ailed the most, as Canopy Growth surrendered $4.09, or 7.6%, to $49.54, while Bausch Health lost $2.34, or 7.4%, to $29.41.
In the tech field, BlackBerry slid 79 cents, or 5.8%, to $11.56, while Constellation Software dropped $21.68, or 2.5%, to $860.00
Energy stocks also felt the bite of uncertainty, as Suncor Energy skidded $1.75, or 3.9%, to $43.44, while Canadian Natural Resources lost 75 cents, or 2%, to $36.06.
Only utility stocks seemed to be going forward, as Fortis Inc. added $1.05, or 2.5%, to $43.84, while Hydro One gathered nine cents to $19.81.
The Bank of Canada today increased its target for the overnight rate to 1.75%. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 2% and the deposit rate is 1.5%
The central bank, which so far lifted rates five times since July 2017, tweaked its standard language on future hikes, dropping previous references to the gradual pace of tightening.
The central bank also warned that an increasing trade war between U.S. and China could become a major drag on global economic growth.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slouched 8.71 points, or 1.3%, to 641.82
All but one of the 12 subgroups were lower, with health-care surrendering 6.2%, information technology issues off 3.7%, and energy, sliding 3.5%.
Only utilities prospered, gaining 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks went firmly south on Wednesday as a sharp drop in tech shares and worries about corporate earnings added fuel to this month's steep pullback.
The Dow Jones Industrials slumped 608.01 points, or 2.4%, to 24,583.42, and erased all of its gains for 2018.
Earlier in the session, the Dow rose more than 100 points on the back of better-than-expected results from Boeing. The aerospace giant also raised its full-year guidance on earnings and sales. The report sent the stock up more than 1%.
The S&P 500 doffed 84.59 points, or 3.1%, to 2,656.10, and also turned negative for the year.
The NASDAQ tumbled 329.14 points, or 4.4%, to 7,108.40 - entering correction territory — as Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Alphabet all traded lower.
Stocks have taken a beating this month. The Dow has dropped 7.1% in October, while the S&P 500 has pulled back 8.9%. The NASDAQ, meanwhile, has tumbled 11.7%.
Netflix tumbled 9.4%, as investors second-guessed valuations for the once high-flying video streamer. Facebook and Alphabet both fell more than 5%,, while Apple dropped 3.4%. AT&T, meanwhile, dropped more than 8.1% after releasing its quarterly results.
In the banking sector, shares of J.P. Morgan Chase and Citigroup both pulled back more than 1.5%. Bank of America's stock dropped 3.1%.
The results come as investors slog through the busiest week of the earnings season. More than 100 S&P 500 companies are scheduled to report this week, including Amazon, Alphabet and Comcast. So far, 80% of the companies that have reported have topped earnings expectations.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury gained sharply, lowering yields to 3.11% from Tuesday’s 3.2%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices stumbled 18 cents at $66.25 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices skidded $1.30 an ounce to $1,235.50
