TORONTO: Canada’s main stock index slipped on Thursday, after energy stocks fell tracking oil prices, and as miners were pressured by a 9% slide in Kinross Gold after its $1.42 billion buyout bid for Great Bear.

At 09:41 a.m. ET (1441 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was down 75.81 points, or 0.36%, at 21,001.54, extending losses for a second straight session.

Miner Kinross Gold Corp fell 9% and to the bottom of the TSX index, after the company said it would buy gold explorer Great Bear Resources Ltd for about C$1.8 billion ($1.42 billion), eyeing its Dixie project, a potentially long-life mine complex.

Great Bear’s shares jumped 24.3%.

The energy sector dropped 1.7% as oil prices fell on worries that measures by some governments to slow the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant could hit demand.

A ratings downgrade on two Chinese property developers also stoked fears over the economic health of the world’s biggest oil importer.

The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, lost 1.7% as gold futures fell 0.2 ahead of US inflation data due Friday that could influence the Federal Reserve’s stance on interest rate hikes.