Toronto's key index was handed its third straight triple-digit loss on Thursday as lower oil prices extended what has turned into a massive selloff in influential energy shares.
The Toronto Stock Exchange S&P/TSX composite index dropped 185.82 points, or 1.73 percent, to 10,562.23. The index is down about 450 points so far this week. But the sharp decline in recent sessions did not draw great concern from market experts who said the selloff was inevitable, given the strong rally by energy shares all year. "We're getting a pullback in the hard-asset area, particularly the oil and gas sector," said Peter Chandler, senior vice-president and director at Canaccord Capital Corp.
"It's been the strongest group this year by a significant margin and nothing goes in a straight line, so there's just some healthy profit-taking going on."
US crude fell to $61.36 a barrel, its fifth straight day of declines, following further signs that US demand was slowing and news that production recovery in the US Gulf Coast was accelerating.
EnCana Corp shares, the biggest drag on the index, fell C$5.01, or 7.9 percent, to C$58.20, while Canadian Natural Resources slipped C$3.46, or 7 percent to C$45.42.
The energy sector plummeted 5 percent, followed by a 3 percent decline by the utilities group. All 10 of the TSX's main subindexes ended down.
The influential financial index also contributed to the downtrend, dropping 0.63 percent, on worries about the economy and inflation.
Bank of Nova Scotia shares ended down 42 Canadian cents, or nearly 1 percent, at C$42.58, while Toronto-Dominion Bank fell 46 Canadian cents, or 0.8 percent, to C$57.20. Market momentum was overwhelmingly negative as 1,123 issues declined and 410 advanced on a heavy volume of 326 million shares valued at C$6.3 billion.
Comments
Comments are closed.