Stocks in Toronto dug themselves a deep hole Wednesday, and losses by energy and real-estate detained the process of getting completely out.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed Wednesday down 132.41 points to 15,701.33.
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.12 cents at 74.64 cents U.S.
Energy continued its dipsy-doodle act Wednesday by falling down the slide, mostly on the shoulders of Shawcor, skidding 34 cents, or 8%, to $3.93, while Baytex Energy shuddered five cents, or 5.9%, to 80 cents.
Real-estate toppled Wednesday, too, as Brookfield Property Partners dwindled $1.23, or 7.1%, to $16.13, while SmartCentres REIT let go of $1.21, or 5.2%, to $22.05.
Health-care stocks were not so in-the-pink, either, with Bausch Health Companies giving $1.54, or 5.7%, to $25.15, while HEXO sank six cents, or 4.2%, to $1.38.
Gold, however, tried to lift spirits, with Kinross Gold traveling north 51 cents, or 6.1%, to $8.87. Oceanagold added 21 cents, or 7.5%, to $3.00.
Materials went up, too, as First Majestic Silver gathered 72 cents, or 5.5%, to $13.79, while Pan American Silver jumped $2.03, or 5.7%, to $38.27.
Consumer staples were stronger, as Alimentation Couche-Tard leaped $1.79, or 4.3%, to $43.15, while Maple Leaf Foods muscled up $1.25, or 4.7%,, to $27.76.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 2.59 points to 567.38.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups finished looking down with energy lower by 3.7%, real-estate sinking 2.2%, and health-care off 1.7%.
The five gainers were led by gold, brightening 3.3%, while materials and consumer staples each climbed 2.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 fell for a second straight day on Wednesday as traders once again took profits out of names benefiting from the economy reopening and rotated into mega-cap tech stocks.
The 30-stock index tumbled 282.31 points, or 1%, to 26,989.99,
The S&P 500 dropped 17.04 points to 3,190.14.
The NASDAQ added to Tuesday’s all-time high by 66.59 points to 10,020.35, as gains in major tech stocks limited the broader market’s decline.
Shares of Amazon and Apple gained more than 1.7% each and hit all-time highs. Alphabet took on 0.9% and Netflix rose 0.1%.
Stocks that would benefit from the economy reopening — which have outperformed in recent weeks — fell broadly.
American Airlines, United and JetBlue all dropped more than 8%. Wells Fargo slid nearly 9% while Citigroup lost 6.1%. JPMorgan Chase traded 4.1% lower.
The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday and indicated it does not expect to raise them through 2022.
In a statement, the Fed said it "expects to maintain this target range until it is confident that the economy has weathered recent events and is on track to achieve its maximum employment and price stability goals."
The committee added it will increase its bond holdings by buying $80 billion per month in Treasurys and $40 billion per month in mortgage backed securities.
The Fed also expects the U.S. economy to contract by 6.5% in 2020 before expanding by 5% in 2021.
Wednesday’s moves come as Texas reports consecutive record surges in coronavirus-related hospitalizations while Arizona’s hospitalization rate is also rising.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury gained sharply, lowering yields to 0.74% from Tuesday’s 0.82%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices inched higher four cents to $38.98 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices recovered $23.20 to $1,745.10 U.S. an ounce.
NASDAQ Closes Above 10K for First Time
