Stocks in Toronto spent much of the day back-pedalling, amid tension involving a possible invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces.
The S&P/TSX Composite stumbled 207.31 points, or 1%, to wrap up Thursday at 21,176.33.
The Canadian dollar lost 0.06 cents at 78.70 cents U.S.
Health-care proved a major culprit, with Aurora Cannabis descending 41 cents, or 6.9%, to $5.57, while Canopy Growth stumbled 73 cents, or 6.6%, to $10.35.
Tech were also roughed up with HUT 8 Mining flopping 96 cents, or 10.6%, to $8.14, while Shopify sank $100.91, or 10.8%, to $838.00
In financials, Canaccord Gentuity skidded 69 cents, or 5%, to $13.16, while Element Fleet Management dropped 49 cents, or 3.8%, to $12.56.
Golds tried to rescue things, with Yamana Gold climbing 33 cents, or 5.7%, to $6.15, while Barrick Gold added $1.44, or 5.1%, to $29.65.
In materials, Agnico Eagle Mines hiked $5.44, or 8.2%, to $71.75, while K92 Mining collected 59 cents, or 7%, to $8.19.
Among utility stocks, Northland Power gained 70 cents, or 1.9%, to $37.25, while Fortis picked up 63 cents, or 1.1%, to $57.79.
Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine accused government forces of opening fire on their territory four times in the past 24 hours. The incidents come as Russia has massed more than 100,000 troops close to Ukraine’s borders, raising fears of an invasion.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported foreign investment in Canadian securities totalled $37.6 billion in December, the largest investment since April 2020. At the same time, Canadian investors increased their holdings of foreign securities by $21.3 billion, led by purchases of U.S. instruments.
The Bank of Canada says it will be nimble and potentially “forceful” in tackling uncomfortably high inflation, setting the stage for an aggressive campaign of interest rate increases.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange collapsed 10.53 points, or 1.2%, to 859.53.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups lost ground Thursday, with health-care down 4.3%, information technology off 3.9%, and financials sliding 1.5%.
The five gainers were led by gold, springing 4.7%, materials up 2.5%, and utilities, improving 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks slumped Thursday as investors kept a wary eye on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and fled riskier corners of the market.
The Dow Jones Industrials hurtled earthward 622.24 points, or 1.8%, to 34,312.03. Thursday marked the blue-chip average’s worst daily performance of the year.
The S&P 500 fell 94.75 points, or 2.1%, to 4,380.26.
The NASDAQ caved 407.38 points, or 2.9%, to 13,716.72.
On Thursday, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations said the conflict had reached a “crucial moment” and that Russia is moving toward “an imminent invasion.” Ukraine accused pro-Russian separatists of attacking a village near the border.
President Joe Biden on Thursday warned that the threat of Russia invading Ukraine is “very high,” telling reporters that an attack could come within “the next several days.”
Consumer staples — known as defensive stocks that tend to be stable regardless of how the overall market performs — were the top-performing sector, climbing nearly 1%.
Walmart led the consumer staples sector after a quarterly report that topped expectations and reaffirmed guidance. The big-box retailer’s shares rose 4%.
Investors also digested a slew of corporate earnings reports.
Palantir sunk 15.8% after the company missed profit expectations. Nvidia fell 7.5% despite a better-than-expected earnings report as the chip maker’s first-quarter gross margin guidance came in slightly lower than analysts expected.
Cisco rose 2.7% after the company also topped estimates and raised guidance. DoorDash saw its shares jump 10.7% after reporting better-than-expected revenue and order numbers.
On the economic front, weekly jobless claims numbers came in at 248,000, rising from the previous week and above the 218,000 expected, according to a Dow Jones estimate. Housing permits for January showed a surprise increase, but housing starts lagged expectations.
Prices for 10-year Treasurys moved higher, weighing yields to 1.97%, from Wednesday’s 2.03%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slipped $2.09 to $91.57 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices leaped $28.80 to $1,900.30 U.S. an ounce.