Stocks in Canada’s largest market fell into the red by the close on Thursday, as much of the excitement over the prospects for an upcoming coronavirus vaccine appeared to peter out.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 37.07 points to finish Thursday at 14,251.09.
The Canadian dollar vaulted 0.47 cents to 71.07 cents U.S.
Utilities proved the greatest weight on the index, as ATCO slumped $1.74, or 4.5%, to $37.01, while Canadian Utilities blundered $1.18, or 3.4%, to $33.70.
In consumer staples, Alimentation Couche-Tard fell $1.34, or 3.3%, to $39.46, while Empire Company dropped 67 cents, or 2%,
Communications also dawdled, as Rogers slumped 96 cents, or 1.7%, to $57.19, while BCE was 84 cents, or 1.5%, to the bad, at $56.35.
Energy stocks moved solidly north, however, as Fronterra Energy added 53 cents, or 13.65, to $4.44, while Baytex Energy triumphed five cents, or 14.7%, to 39 cents.
In the gold patch, Centerra Gold moved ahead 79 cents, or 7.2%, to $11.72, while OceanaGold advanced 12 cents, or 5.5%, to $2.19.
Materials did well, too, as ERO Copper solidified $1.098, or 8.4%, to $14.07, while Norbord pointed upward 74 cents, or 4.4%, to $17.65.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange kept gains of 3.92 points to 456.51
All but three of 12 TSX subgroups moved downward by the finish, most notably utilities, down 1.4%, while consumer staples slid 1.2%, and communications docked 0.9%.
The three gainers proved to be energy, rumbling 2.6% higher, with gold ahead 2.1%, and materials, up 1.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks were taken for a wild ride on Thursday that showed just how important finding a treatment for the coronavirus is for Wall Street.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average hung onto gains of 39.44 to finish the session at 23,515.26. Earlier in the day, the Dow rallied more than 400 points.
The S&P 500 fell 1.51 points to 2,797.80.
The NASDAQ Composite faded 0.63 points to 8,494.75.
The Financial Times said — citing documents accidentally published by the World Health Organization — that Gilead Sciences’ drug remdesivir did not improve patients’ condition or reduce the coronavirus pathogen in their bloodstream. Those findings, according to the report, came from a clinical trial in China.
Equities attempted a rebound on the back of Gilead’s story before closing along the flatline. Gilead Sciences shares closed 4.3% lower.
West Texas Intermediate futures for June delivery jumped 19.7% to settle at $16.50 per barrel as traders increased bets on U.S. production cuts. WTI also rallied on Wednesday.
The major averages have staged a massive rebound since hitting a coronavirus-crisis low on March 23. In that time, the Dow S&P 500 and NASDAQ are all up over 20%. Still, the major averages remain well below the record highs set in February.
U.S. traders on Thursday also pored through the Labor Department’s latest report on jobless claims.
Another 4.4 million workers filed for unemployment benefits last week. That brought the five-week jobless claims total to more than 26 million, erasing all the job gains since the Great Recession. However, Thursday’s print represented a decline from the jobless claims number reported in the previous week.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 0.59% from Wednesday’s 0.62%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices took on $3.22 to $17.00 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices added $11.20 to $1,749.50 U.S. an ounce.
