Equities in Toronto retreated on Wednesday, led by energy shares, as worries about a second wave of coronavirus infections and record high oil inventories weighed on the prices of the commodity.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index headed lower Wednesday morning by 104.09 points to 15,460.66.
The Canadian dollar sagged 0.05 cents to 73.73 cents U.S.
Barrick Gold will lay off most staff at its Porgera gold mine in Papua New Guinea, a signal that an impasse with the government over ownership is unlikely to be resolved swiftly. Barrick shares picked up 43 cents, or 1.2%, to $35.24.
Citigroup raised the price target on Cenovus Energy to $9.00 from $7.00. Cenovus shares skidded 24 cents, or 3.8%, to $6.12.
RBC cut the target price on Evertz Technologies to $14.00 from $17.00. Evertz shares dropped 98 cents, or 7.3%, in the first hour of trading, to $12.54.
Scotiabank raised the rating on Horizon North Logistics to "sector outperform" from "sector perform". Horizon shares took on four cents, or 6.8%, to 68 cents.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange still found room for upward mobility, and rose 2.19 points to 589.03.
Eight of the 12 subgroups went red in the first hour, with energy sinking 2.1%, consumer discretionary stocks fading 1.2%, and real-estate down 1.1%.
The four gainers were led by gold, better by 0.9%, materials, off 0.5%, and information technology, inching up 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell on Wednesday as traders grew worried about the increasing number of newly confirmed coronavirus cases.
The Dow Jones Industrials dumped 431.49 points, or 1.7%, to begin mid-week Wednesday at 25,724.61.
The S&P 500 sank 47.63 points, or 1.5%, to 3,084.56.
The NASDAQ Composite signaled an end to its eight-session winning streak, by heading south 119.91 points, or 1.2%, to 10,011.46.
Shares of companies primed to benefit from the economy reopening faltered. United Airlines fell 3.3%. Delta, American and Southwest all slid over 1.5%. Carnival slipped 5%,, Norwegian Cruise Line let go of 4.5%, and Royal Caribbean was lower by 3.7%. Shares in Gap also fell more than 2%.
An analysis of Johns Hopkins University data found the U.S. seven-day average of coronavirus cases surged more than 30% from a week ago. California is one of the states which have seen a dramatic spike in cases, adding more than 6,000 on Monday alone.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury lost ground, boosting yields to 0.71% from Tuesday’s 0.71%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell back 48 cents to $40.25 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices improved $17.80 to $1,784.20 U.S. an ounce.
