Stock prices in Toronto fell on Thursday, as anxious investors awaited the outcome of U.S.-China trade talks amid signs that negotiations were turning sour as Washington readies tariffs on Chinese goods.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index plummeted 111.35 points to reach noon at 16,286.05
The Canadian dollar eased off 0.14 to 74.09 cents
The health-care index was dragged lower by a slide of $1.46, or 7.1%, in Cronos Group, to $19.26, after quarterly results.
The largest percentage gainer on the TSX was gaming company Stars Group, which jumped $14.08, or 17.3%, to $27.66 after Fox Corp said it would buy a 5% stake.
Franco-Nevada Corp gained $4.01, or 4.2%, to $98.79 after reporting results and announcing changes at its board.
Toymaker Spin Master fell $2.95, or 6.7%, the most on the TSX, to $41.14, and auto parts maker Magna International Inc dropped $8.35, or 11.6%, to $63.36, after quarterly results.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada said new house prices stayed put in March, for a second consecutive month.
Also, the agency said, exports rose 3.2% in March, while imports increased 2.5%.
As a result, Canada's merchandise trade deficit with the world narrowed from $3.4 billion in February to $3.2 billion in March.
Economists were calling for a trade balance of around $2.45 billion.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 4.81 points to 593.44
All but three of the 12 Toronto subgroups were lower midday, with health-care subsiding 2.6%, consumer discretionaries failing 1.9%, and energy 1.1% less energetic.
The three gainers were consumer staples, ahead 0.8%, gold, up 0.4%, and utilities, better by 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell on Thursday, resuming a deep sell-off this week, after President Donald Trump said China "broke the deal" at a rally Wednesday evening, fueling worries the U.S. and China will be unable to hatch a trade agreement before new tariffs go into effect at midnight.
The Dow Jones Industrials plummeted 315.16 points, or 1.2%, to 25,652.17.
The S&P 500 lost 28.12 points, or 1%, to 2,851.30.
The Dow is down more than 700 points and the S&P 500 has lost more than 3% this week after Trump threatened to raise tariffs on more Chinese goods over the weekend.
The NASDAQ Composite index came off its lows of the morning, but still trailed Wednesday’s close by 90.29 points, or 1.1%, to 7,852.72
Major averages are now on pace for their worst week of 2019.
Shares of Intel fell nearly 6% on Thursday after sinking nearly 5% in the previous session as the chipmaker said it sees both revenue and earnings per share growing in the "single-digit" percentage range over the next three years.
BMO downgraded the stock to market perform from outperform on Thursday, saying it sees the stock "treading water at best." Other chip stocks fell on trade war concerns.
Chipmakers, sensitive to higher tariffs, took a hit on Thursday as Nvidia fell 4.4%, and Micron lost 3.5% respectively. Apple also fell 2.3% and Boeing is down 2.6% Thursday.
Chevron's stock rose more than 3% Thursday after the company said it will not submit a new offer to acquire Anadarko Petroleum and will collect a $1-billion breakup fee. The oil major also said it's increasing share repurchase rate by 25% to $5 billion per year.
Liu He, China's vice premier and top trade negotiator, will dine with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and other U.S. officials Thursday evening in Washington, just hours before the new tariffs are imposed. Liu is not expected to meet with Trump on Thursday
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury were sharply higher, weighing yields to 2.45% from Wednesday’s 2.49%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slumped 78 cents to $61.34 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $5.20 to $1,286.60 U.S. an ounce.
