Equities across North America were punished Thursday, pressured by a drop in energy and materials shares, while investors assessed more domestic and U.S. corporate earnings.
The TSX Composite Index withered 387.60 points, or 1.7%, to conclude Thursday at 22,723.21.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.36 cents at 72.06 cents U.S.
Among earnings movers, TC Energy rose $1.09, or 1.9%, to $59.71, as the pipeline operator beat second-quarter profit estimates, helped by higher volumes of natural gas transported through its system.
Elsewhere in energy, Parex Resources faded $2.20, or 10.6%, to $18.51, while Vermillion Energy lost 98 cents, or 6.6%, to $13.87.
Tech stocks were punished Thursday, as Kinaxis was belted $15.31, or 9%, to $154.55, while Docebo fell $2.69, or 4.8%, to $52.43.
Materials stocks were also on the downside, as First Majestic Silver toppled $1.14, or 13.4%, to $7.40, while SSR Mining fell 87 cents, or 11.4%, to $6.97.
Canada Goose slid 82 cents, or 5.2%, to $15.11, despite beating Wall Street estimates for quarterly revenue.
Thomson Reuters fell $3.27, or 1.5%, to $220.48. It reported second-quarter earnings that topped Wall Street expectations as revenue rose 6% and it continued to aggressively deploy artificial intelligence technology for its customers.
In communications, TELUS gained 39 cents, or 1.8%, to $22.68, while Cogeco Communications hiked 82 cents, or 1.3%, to $64.12.
In real-estate, units of Boardwalk REIT hiked $1.76, to 2.3%, to $79.76, while Colliers International jumped $8.16, or 4.4%, to $194.23.
Health-care moved forward, with Bausch Health Companies grabbing 15 cents, or 1.8%, to $8.47, while Sienna Senior Living took on three cents to $15.55.
In the economic field, Markit’s Manufacturing PMI for July decreased to 47.8 from 49.3 in June.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 9.94 points, or 1.7%, to 572.64.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower, weighed most by information technology, down 3.3%, energy, down 2.8%, and materials, retreating 1.8%.
The four gainers were led by communications, taking on 0.7%, while real-estate gained 0.6%, and health-care, poking up 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks sold off Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbling nearly 500 points, as investors’ fears over a recession surfaced.
The blue-chip index dumped 494.82 points, or 1.2%, to 40,347.97.
The S&P 500 index slid 75.62 points, or 1.4%, to 5,446.68.
The NASDAQ fell 405.26 points, or 2.3%, to 17,194.15.
Stocks that would suffer the most under a recession were among the biggest losers during the day’s trading session, including JPMorgan Chase, which lost 2%, and Boeing, which fell more than 5%.
Stocks began the day on a high note, however, as Meta Platforms rallied more than 4% on stronger-than-expected second-quarter results and upbeat guidance. But Meta was one of the few stocks in the green as the trading day went on.
Even Big Tech stocks such as Nvidia were feeling the pain with the artificial intelligence chip leader off 8% as investors overall may be taking some chips off the table into what could be a more volatile time for the market with a November election around the corner. The S&P 500 is up 14% for the year still, coming off its eighth positive month in the last nine in July.
Those gains came as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled the central bank could cut at its next meeting if the data continues supporting the narrative that inflation is easing. The Fed held interest rates steady.
Initial jobless claims rose to 249,000 last week, higher than a Dow Jones forecast of 235,000 and the most since August 2023. The ISM manufacturing index came in at 46.8%, worse than expected and a signal of economic contraction.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained ground, with yields falling to 3.97% from Wednesday’s 4.06%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices wilted 96 cents at $76.95 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices shone brighter $13.70 to $2,489.20.
