Equities in Canada’s largest centre fell on Thursday as weak oil and metal prices weighed on commodity stocks and banks slid on fears that Wednesday’s surprise 100-basis-point interest hike by the central bank could hit mortgage growth.
The S&P/TSX tumbled 281.27 points, or 1.5%, to close Thursday at 18,333.92.
The Canadian dollar fell 0.61 cents to 76.31 cents U.S.
Financials took the harshest blows, with Royal Bank dumping $6.67, or 5.3%, to $119.68, while Canadian Western Bank fell $1.23, or 4.8%, to $24.19.
Gold also headed lower, with Equinox Gold surrendering 31 cents, or 5.7%, to $5.18, while Kinross dropped 25 cents, or 5.8%, to $4.10.
Among materials, First Quantum Minerals faded $1.88, or 8.6%, to $19.81, while Methanex slid $2.45, or 5.2%, to $44.59.
Health-care surged, as Tilray gathered 60 cents, or 14.4%, to $4.77, while Aurora Cannabis gained 23 cents, or 13.5%, to $1.93.
In industrials, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers jumped $9.29, or 11.9%, to $87.65, while Cargojet flew $1.85, or 1.4%, to $134.85.
In utilities, Innergex Renewable Energy climbed 37 cents, or 2.1%, to $18.35, while Boralex moved up 69 cents, or 1.7%, to $42.62.
On the economic stage, Statistics Canada said manufacturing sales fell 2.0% in May, mainly on lower sales of motor vehicles and primary metals.
Excluding the transportation equipment industry, total manufacturing sales rose 0.2% in May.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange sank 9.78 points, or 1.6%, to 585.82.
All but three of 12 TSX subgroups closed in the red, as financials lost 3.2%, gold dulled in price 3.1%, and materials stepped back 2.9%..
The three gainers proved to be health-care, picking up 3.5%, industrials, improving 1%, and utilities, nosing up 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks tumbled Thursday as big bank earnings kicked off with disappointing results and traders assessed the possibility of even tighter U.S. monetary policy as recessionary fears lingered.
The Dow Jones Industrials declined 142.62 points to 30,630.17, after plummeting as much as 628 points earlier in the session.
The S&P 500 subtracted 11.4 points to 3,790.38.
The NASDAQ Composite squeezed 3.6 points higher to 11,251.19.
Equities were on track to finish the week in negative territory, with the Dow and S&P down more than 2% each.
Earnings results from major banks on Thursday offered further clues into the health of the U.S. economy as recession fears mount.
JPMorgan Chase shares sank 4.3% after the bank added to reserves for bad loans and halted its share buybacks, signaling a more cautious economic outlook.
As profits dipped, CEO Jamie Dimon warned that the economy could take a hit from surging inflation, geopolitical tensions and dwindling consumer confidence “sometime down the road.”
Continuing the trend, Morgan Stanley shares slumped 1.4% on the back of a sharp decline in investment banking revenue, while Goldman Sachs, which is set to report earnings Monday, fell 3.6%. Earnings from big banks continue on Friday with results from Wells Fargo and Citigroup.
Declines from JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Travelers led the Dow’s losses on Thursday, while energy, materials and financial stocks were among the S&P 500’s worst performers. Mosaic shares tumbled more than 5%, while energy companies Halliburton and EOG Resources fell more than 4% each.
Bigtech stocks were mixed on Thursday, with information technology marginally higher. Shares of Apple and Nvidia gained 1% as Meta Platforms, Salesforce, Tesla and Amazon each slipped more than 1%.
June’s producer price index report, which measures prices paid to producers of goods and services, showed wholesale prices rise 11.3% last month as energy prices jumped and offered further insights into the health of the economy.
Treasury prices declined, raising yields to 2.96% from Wednesday’s 2.91%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices were in the red 11 cents to $96.19 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped $28.00 to $1,707.50 U.S. an ounce.
Dow Dips over Worry about Rate Hikes