The general stock malaise continued Wednesday on markets throughout North America, even though the Bank of Canada decided to stand pat on interest rates.
The TSX Composite lost 38.64 points Wednesday to 18,947.85.
The Canadian dollar skidded 0.27 cents at 72.50 cents U.S.
Among health-care concerns, Tilray fell 17 cents, or 6.4%, to $2.48, while Bausch Health Companies let go of 30 cents, or 3.1%, to $9.52.
In tech companies, Dye & Durham gave up a dollar, or 11.1%, to eight dollars, while Docebo dumped $3.97, or 7%, to $52.79.
Real-estate firms were also hammered, as Smart Centres REIT units docked 48 cents, or 2.2%, to $21.50, while Northwest Properties REIT dished off 18 cents to $3.97.
Energy firms moved higher, though, Secure Energy Services gaining 19 cents, or 2.6%, to $7.39, while Vermilion Energy grabbed 42 cents, or 2.1%, to $20.17.
In the industrial sector, Waste Connections took on $5.20, or 2.8%, to $189.7r, while TFI International hiked $3.08, or 2.1%, to $149.62.
Consumer staples also succeeded, with Maple Leaf Foods soaring 39 cents, or 1.5%, to $25.71, while Alimentation Couche-Tard gained 80 cents , or 1.1%, to $73.73.
As expected, the Bank of Canada today held its target for the overnight rate at 5%, with the Bank Rate at 5.25% and the deposit rate at 5%. The Bank is continuing its policy of quantitative tightening.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dived 4.59 points to 518.31.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups surrendered ground by the close, with health-care ailing 3.5%, information technology down 2.8%, and real-estate faltering 1.3%.
The five gainers were led by energy, up 1.2%, industrials, ahead 0.8%, and consumer staples marching 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 closed below a key level on Wednesday after disappointing quarterly results from Google-parent Alphabet and a rebound in interest rates.
The Dow Jones Industrials thundered lower 105.45 points to 33,035.93.
The S&P 500 index faltered 60.9 points, or 1.4%, to 4,186.77. It was the first time the S&P 500 closed below this threshold since May.
The NASDAQ slumped 318.65 points, or 2.4%, to 12,821.22, for its worst day since Feb. 21, when the index shed 2.5%.
Alphabet shares tumbled more than 9% as its cloud business missed analysts’ estimates, overshadowing its strong revenue growth and earnings beat. Class A shares of Alphabet registered their worst day since March 2020. The S&P 500 communication services sector shed 5.9%.
Shares of peer tech behemoths and Apple slipped about 1.4%, while Amazon tumbled 5.6%. Amazon is set to report third-quarter results after the closing bell on Thursday.
Microsoft stood out as an outlier among the decline in tech stocks on Tuesday, with shares gaining 3% after first-quarter results beat Wall Street estimates.
Tech firms IBM and Meta will post quarterly results in the afternoon. About 29% of S&P 500 companies have posted third-quarter earnings thus far. Of those companies, 78% have exceeded expectations.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury sagged, propelling yields to 4.95% from Tuesday’s 4.81%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices recouped $1.46 to $85.20 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained five dollars to $1,991.10.