It was a dismal finish for markets in Toronto, with every sector losing steam Thursday.
The TSX dropped 198.28 points, or 1.2%, to close Thursday at 16,185.32.
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.23 cents to 75.80 cents U.S.
Energy again took a pounding, with Enerplus swooning 22 cents, or 7.8%, to $2.60, while Vermilion Energy tailed off 28 cents, or 6.7%, to $3.90.
Among techs, Descartes Systems Group fell $5.00, or 6.6%, to $71.49, while Absolute Software collapsed 75 cents, or 5.3%, to $13.49.
Utilities took some bruises, too, as AltaGas gave back 41 cents, or 2.4%, to $16.50, while Northland Power slumped 85 cents, or 2.3%, to $35.74.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dipped 1.21 points to 742.05.
All 12 TSX subgroups finished in the red, with energy down 2.4%, information technology plummeting 2.1%, and utilities off 1.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell sharply in volatile trading on Thursday as the rout in tech — the best-performing sector in the market — resumed after a one-day break.
The Dow Jones Industrials plummeted 406.22 points, or 1.5%, to 27,534.25.
The S&P 500 stumbled 59.77 points to 3,339.19.
The NASDAQ Composite descended 221.97 points, or 2%, to 10,919.59.
Apple shares were down 3.3% after rising as much as 2.7%. Tesla, which was up more than 8% at one point, closed just 1.4% higher. Netflix and Microsoft were both lower along with Facebook and Amazon. Nvidia shares lost 3.2%.
The S&P 500 tech sector fell 11.4% between the close of Sept. 2 — when the market hit an all-time high — and Tuesday. Over that time period, the S&P 500 dropped nearly 7%. Tech clawed back some of its losses on Wednesday, posting its biggest one-day surge since April before the sell-off resumed Thursday.
Traders also pored over key unemployment data on Thursday.
The U.S. Labor Department said the number of first-time filers for unemployment benefits came in at 884,000. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected claims to come in at 850,000.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury regained lost ground, weighing yields to 0.68% from Wednesday’s 0.7%. Treasury Prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 98 cents to $37.07 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slumped $3.30 to $1,968.20 U.S. an ounce.
