Shares in Toronto's main stock index opened lower on Thursday, dragged down by shares of energy companies as oil prices hit their lowest levels in more than a year.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index forged ahead 16 points to begin Thursday trading at 14,280.06
The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.04 cents to 74.25 U.S.
Bombardier will deliver its first Global 7500 corporate jet on Thursday, premiering a full-sized bed and optional en-suite shower, in a challenge to U.S. plane maker Gulfstream at the top of the luxury jet market.
Bombardier shares gained seven cents, or 3.7%, to $1.94.
Hong Kong has awarded Bowtie Life Insurance, a company backed by Sun Life Financial's Hong Kong unit, the first online-only insurance licence under the city's "fast-track" scheme.
CIBC cut the price target on Sun Life Financial to $53.00 from $55.00. Sun Life shares picked up 22 cents to $44.16.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that wholesale sales rose 1.0% to $63.8 billion in October, more than offsetting the 0.7% decline in September. Sales were up in four of seven sub-sectors, representing about 68% of total wholesale sales.
Average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were $1,009 in October, up 0.6% from the previous month. Compared with 12 months earlier, earnings increased by 2.5%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dipped 0.08 points to 541.79
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were in negative country, with health-care down 0.8%, information technology off 0.5%, and communications sliding 0.4%.
The three gainers were gold, up 3.8%, materials, better by 2%, and energy, forging ahead 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks fell for a second day after the Federal Reserve raised benchmark interest rates on Wednesday and said that it would continue to let its massive balance sheet shrink at the current pace.
The Dow Jones Industrials stayed on its downward path at Thursday’s open, retreating 117.02 points to 23,206.64, as UnitedHealth and Home Depot led the decline.
The S&P 500 picked up 1.16 points to 2,508.12, as consumer staples and discretionary stocks underperformed. Thursday’s losses occurred in all 11 of the S&P 500 sectors.
The NASDAQ regained 27.38 points to 6,664.21, as Facebook and Alphabet both fell.
The Dow, having fallen 8%, and S&P 500, off 9%, are both in correction territory, are on track for their worst December performance since the Great Depression in 1931. The S&P 500 is now in the red for 2018 by 6.3%.
The Dow has lost over 1,250 points this week.
The moves Thursday came after the Fed decided to hike its benchmark overnight lending rate by one quarter point in the prior session. The Dow fell more than 350 points following the Fed’s decision and pushed the major indexes to new lows for the year.
For traders, the Fed’s statement and Chairman Jerome Powell’s subsequent press conference did not suggest that the central bank would slow its pace of rate hikes as quickly as some had hoped.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury were unchanged, keeping yields at Wednesday’s 2.77%.
Oil prices backpedaled $1.33 to $46.84 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $7.90 to $1,264.30 U.S. an ounce.
