Equities in Toronto's main stock index were lower midday Thursday, despite gains gain in the materials sector as gold prices rose over 1% supported by slump in the U.S. dollar and global stocks.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gave up earlier gains and fell 46.81 points to greet noon at 14,217.25
The Canadian dollar weakened 0.23 cents to 73.97 U.S.
Health-care proved the greatest weight on the index, with Canopy Growth falling 52 cents, or 1.4%, to $37.28, while Aphria submerged four cents to $7.22.
Tech stocks sank as well, as Shopify collapsed $13.58, or 7.6%, to $165.86, while Constellation Software declined $25.12, or 2.8%, to $862.07.
Gold powers led the gainers, as Guyana Goldfields picked up 17 cents, or 12.5%, to $1.53, and Iamgold vaulted 24 cents, or 5.3% to $4.79.
In materials, Agnico Eagle Mines gained $2.53, or 4.9%, to $54.13.
ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc fell $1.40 or 9.1%, the most on the TSX, to $13.98.
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 0.45 points to 541.42
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower, as health-care was down 3.2%, information technology, off 2.7%, and consumer discretionary issues were down 1.1%.
The two gainers were gold, up 4%, while materials increased 1.8%
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks swooned 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. Fears of a government shutdown also weighed on stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrials plummeted 407.14 points, or 1.8%, to 22,916.52, as UnitedHealth and Boeing led the decline.
The S&P 500 collapsed 38.84 points, or 1.6%, to 2,468.12, as consumer staples and discretionary stocks underperformed.
The NASDAQ lost 130.11 points, or 2%, to 6,506.72, and entered bear market territory as Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Alphabet all declined.
With Thursday’s losses, the Dow has shed more than 1,100 points this week. Until now, December has never been the S&P 500's worst month of the year.
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 $2.07 to $46.10 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $7.20 to $1,263.60 U.S. an ounce.
