Equities in Canada’s largest centre were not spared voters’ wrath Wednesday, with indices reporting heavy losses.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index plummeted 367.07 points, or 1.7%, to close Wednesday to 21,897.98.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.36 cents at 72.91 cents U.S.
In corporate news, shares of National Bank of Canada gained $2.83, or 2.5%, to $115.84 after the lender reported a rise in second-quarter net profit, helped by strong performance in its wealth management and financial markets units.
The heavyweight financials sector fell to a more than three-week low as shares of Bank of Montreal slipped $11.22, or 8.6%, to $119.88.
Elsewhere, consumer staples were shaken up somewhat, as Alimentation Couche-Tard faltered $2.21, or 2.7%, to $78.14, while Saputo dipped 48 cents, or 1.8%, to $26.98.
Utilities also had a tough time of it, with Brookfield Infrastructure Partners sank $2.09, or 5.2%, to $38.58, while Brookfield Renewable units dished off $1.47, or 3.9%, to $36.36.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 1.56 points to finish off Wednesday at 609.47.
All 12 subgroups were negative, with financials down 2.2%, while energy and utilities each let go of 2.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks slid Wednesday, as rocky trading in artificial intelligence darling Nvidia threatened one of the last few bright spots for traders with Treasury yields ascending.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average unloaded 411.32 points, or 1.1%, to end Wednesday’s session at 38,441.54
The S&P 500 slid 39.07 points to 5,266.97.
The NASDAQ swooned 99.3 points to 16,920.58.
Nvidia traded $9.24 higher to $1,148.25, reversing an early loss of 2.6%. The megacap tech name has risen every trading session since its blockbuster earnings report last week, with a cumulative post-earnings surge of nearly 20%.
All 11 sectors that comprise the broad S&P 500 retreated, underscoring the breadth of market weakness. More than 400 stocks in the index were lower on the day.
More than two-thirds of the 30 stocks in the Dow fell. Insurance provider UnitedHealth led the blue-chip average lower with a slide of more than 4% following management commentary around its Medicaid business. Other stocks tied to the federal health insurance program dropped, including Molina Healthcare, Humana and Elevance Health.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury collapsed, raising yields to 4.74% from Tuesday’s 4.54%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices ditched 82 cents to $79.01 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices fell $20.20 to $2,336.30.
