Equities in Canada’s largest centre took a pounding midday Thursday, as higher commodity prices offset broader market caution and disappointing earnings after the benchmark's strongest session in three weeks.
The TSX slid 233.81 points to pause for lunch Thursday at 29,870.63.
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.12 cents to 70.79 cents U.S.
On the corporate front, Canadian Natural Resources posted a fall in third-quarter profit, as weaker commodity prices weighed on the results. Natural Resources fell 58 cents, or 1.3% in the early afternoon to $44.43.
Among other corporate news, Bombardier shares fell $3.08, or 1.6%, to $195.01 despite topping Wall Street's third-quarter revenue forecasts, while Canada Goose slumped $3.56, or 17.9%, to $16.38. on a revenue miss. TC Energy edged down 0.6% after disappointing profit.
TransAlta fell $3.40, or 14.3%. to the bottom of the S&P/TSX composite index at $20.40, after the power generation firm reported a decreased revenue in the third quarter.
Meanwhile, Equinox Gold jumped $1.12, or 10.6% to the top of the index at $11.72, after BMO raised the target price on the stock to $20.00 from $18.00
Economically speaking, the IVEY School of Business reported its Purchasing Managers Index Thursday. The index slumbered to 52.4 in October from 59.8 in September but remained above the 52 reading for October 2024.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange plummeted 26.73 points, or 3%, to 874.16.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups fell backward, information technology dawdling 3.6%, health-care ailing 2.5%, and industrials, off 1.7%.
The three gainers were materials, up 1.5%, gold, shining brighter 1.4%, and telecoms, up 1.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks retreated on Thursday as names in the artificial intelligence trade came under pressure yet again amid worries around eye-watering valuations.
The Dow Jones Industrials cratered 502.92 points, or 1.1%, to 46,808.08.
The S&P 500 erased 86.93 points, or 1.3%, to reach noon EST at 6,709.36.
The NASDAQ shed 470.47 points, or 2%, to 23,032.11
AI stocks have moved unevenly since the start of November trading, and that trend continued during Thursday’s session. Qualcomm shed 4%, even after the chipmaker posted better-than-expected quarterly results.
Advanced Micro Devices, a standout name in the prior day, declined 7%, while Palantir Technologies and Oracle dipped 5% and 3%, respectively.
Shares of AI darling Nvidia and fellow “Magnificent Seven” name Meta Platforms slid as well.
Equities linked to the AI space rebounded on Wednesday from valuation concerns that swirled earlier this week, serving as a potential boon for the major indexes.
AMD closed more than 2% higher in the previous session after the semiconductor company reported better-than-expected third-quarter results.
The performance pulled up some other AI stocks alongside it, including Broadcom and Micron Technology. Oracle also recouped some recent losses.
Thursday’s pullback was exacerbated by concerns about the state of the labor market, as October saw a significant number of layoff announcements. Job cuts for the month totaled 153,074, marking an increase of 183% from September and 175% from the year-ago period, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained Thursday, weighing yields to 4.08% from Wednesday’s 4.16%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices faded 59 cents to $59.01 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices tumbled $7.80 to $3,985.00 U.S. an ounce.
Related Stories
