Equities in Canada’s biggest market ended the session in the red again on Thursday as there was uncertainty over whether the central bank would hike interest rates.
The TSX closed at 20,132.08, down 94.88 points on Thursday.
The Canadian dollar declined 0.21 cents to 73.10 cents US
Consumer concerns dragged the index down on Thursday, with George Weston falling $3.11, or 2%, to $151.05, while North West Company fell 55 cents, or 1.8%, to $29.85.
Among communications companies, Quebecor fell 52 cents, or 1.7%, to $29.82, while TELUS fell more than 30 cents, or 1.3%, to $22.94.
Magna International fell $2.20, or 2.7%, to $78.98, while Linamar fell $1.70, or 2.4%, to $70.38.
Utilities made every effort to bring things up, with Brookfield Renewable Partners up 85 cents, or 2%, to $43.23, while Brookfield Infrastructure improved 87 cents, or 2.1%, to $43.25.
Health care stocks also fared somewhat better, with Bosch Health Companies rising 12 cents, or 1.1%, to $11.52, while shares of Ciena Senior Living gained two cents to $11.50.
In an economic document, Statistics Canada said building permits fell 1.5% to $11.7 billion in July.
Also on Thursday, the IVEY Purchasing Managers’ Index measured 53.5 in August, compared to 48.6 in July and 53.5 in August 2022.
on baystreet
The TSX Venture Exchange rose 0.74 points to 585.55.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were negative in the session, with consumer staples down 1.4%, communications down 1.1% and consumer discretionary stocks down 0.9%.
Among the two gainers, utilities led the way with gains of 1.3%, while health care was up 0.3%.
on wall street
Reading:
The NASDAQ fell for a fourth day on Thursday as concerns re-emerged over the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy path and whether policymakers would make another hike this year.
The Dow Jones Industrials closed at 34,500.73, up 57.54 points on Thursday.
The S&P 500 index slipped 14.34 points to 4,451.34.
The NASDAQ index recovered from the afternoon’s low, but still fell for the fourth day in a row, down 123.64 points to 13,748.83.
Apple shares fell 2.9% after Bloomberg News reported that China is considering broadening a ban on iPhone use at state-owned companies and agencies. Technology and semiconductor stocks declined, with Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices down 1.7% and 2.5%. Seagate Technology declined about 11%, while Skyworks Solutions, Qualcomm and Corvo declined more than 7% each.
Traders also study the latest corporate earnings reports. C3.ai fell 12.2% on weak guidance, while ChargePoint Holdings fell 10.9% after missing revenue estimates.
A series of economic data points on Thursday — including lower-than-expected jobless claims — fueled fears that a still-strong labor market could make the Federal Reserve think twice about easing its tight monetary policy stance. Could Weekly jobless claims came in at 216,000, compared with 230,000 expected by the Dow Jones, while labor costs rose more than expected in the second quarter.
While 93% of interest rate traders expect no changes at September’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting, expectations for an additional interest rate hike at the November meeting rose to 45%.
10-year Treasury prices edged higher, pushing the yield down to 4.25% from Wednesday’s 4.29%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices declined 52 cents to US$87.02 per barrel.
Gold prices fell by a dollar to USD 1,943.20 an ounce.
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