The upward vibes of the market turned sharply lower Thursday, as many sectors found it hard to hang onto gains with more economic storm clouds gathering.
The TSX swooned 176.17 points to conclude Thursday at 20,385.47.
The Canadian dollar erased 0.17 cents to 75.56 cents U.S.
Gold took the biggest body blows, with Eldorado Gold sliding 88 cents, or 6.2%, to $13.44, while Seabridge Gold faded $1.06, or 6.2%, to $15.97.
Among real-estate issues, StorageVault sank 50 cents, or 9.2%, to $4.96, while Colliers International lost $9.39, or 6.6%, to $132.64.
Communications firms also took it on the chin, primarily Rogers, down $3.51, or 5.8%, to $57.31, while Quebecor dumped 33 cents, or 1%, to $32.17.
Only health-care companies ended the day smiling, with Tilray jumping 28 cents, or 11%, to $2.83.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada reported the number of employees receiving pay and benefits from their employer—measured as “payroll employees” in the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours—increased by 23,300 in May, excluding federal government public administration.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 8.68 points, or 1.4%, to 611.57.
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups took tumbles, as gold dropped 3%, real-estate loosened 2.1%, and communications fell 1.8%.
Only health-care escaped all the carnage, gaining 1.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finally ran out of steam Thursday as investors cashed in following an historic streak of 13 straight gains.
The 30-stock index stumbled 237.4 points to conclude Thursday at 35,282.32, dragged lower by shares of Honeywell.
The Dow’s winning streak was driven by signs that the economy will dodge a recession, falling inflation data and resilient corporate earnings. Wall Street got more evidence on all those fronts on Thursday.
The S&P 500 Index subtracted 29.34 points to 4,537.41.
The NASDAQ index doffed 77.18 points to 14,050.11, as investors took some profits in key tech shares like Microsoft and Apple.
Meta Platforms shares popped 4.4% on better-than-expected results and strong guidance. The company’s numbers were boosted by a rebound in ad revenue. And the latest gross domestic product reading Thursday showed a rise of 2.4% in the second quarter, which was better than the 2% increase expected by economists polled by Dow Jones.
Earnings results have generally been stronger than expected. Of the companies that have reported thus far, 81% have beaten analyst expectations, according to FactSet data.
The GDP data and earnings are the latest signals the U.S. economy is more resilient than expected and could dodge a recession, as inflation shows continued signs of easing.
Gross domestic product showed a rise of 2.4% in the second quarter, which was better than the 2% increase expected by economists polled by Dow Jones. The report also suggested price pressures are easing, with the personal consumption expenditures price index rising 2.6% in the second quarter. That’s lower than the 3.2% increase expected by economists, and the 4.1% rise in the prior quarter.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury took a dive, raising yields to 4.01% from Wednesday’s 3.87%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices soared $1.07 to $79.85 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slumped $26.50 to $1,943.60 U.S. an ounce.