Canada's main stock index retreated by noon on Thursday, with gains in energy stocks offsetting the drag in financials as rising bond yields and oil prices kept investors wary of inflation and higher interest rates.
The TSX Composite Index fell back into the red 40.48 points to break for lunch Thursday at 35,001.38.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.10 cents to 70.23 cents U.S.
Richelieu Hardware jumped $4.81, or 13.9%, to $39.49, after the specialty hardware distributor reported a rise in third-quarter revenue.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 11.21 points, or 1%, to 865.96.
Eight of the 12 subgroups lost ground, with financials and utilities down 0.8%, while information technology sank 0.7%.
The four gainers were led by energy, up 2.6%, consumer staples, improving 1%, and telecoms, climbing 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 moved lower on Thursday as investors watched the moves in Treasury yields and faced pressure from elevated oil prices.
The Dow Jones Industrials were negative 204.37 points to 50.975.50
The much-broader index dipped 27.29 points to 7,774.48
The NASDAQ Composite lost 150.49 points to 27,388.20.
Oil prices spiked also after President Donald Trump said he doesn’t want to make a deal with Iran to end the war, while the U.S. is reportedly preparing for “massive bombing” in the Middle East.
Brent crude jumped 4% to around $104 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate futures, meanwhile, advanced 4% to around $92.
Key areas of the market sensitive to higher borrowing costs such as banks and technology were under pressure yet again. Intel and Marvell Technology shares were each down more than 2%, while Bank of America and Citigroup shed around 1%.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury sagged slightly, raising yields to 5.30% from Wednesday’s 5.29%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices recovered $4.61 to $92.89 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices subtracted $2.10 to $4,138.60 U.S. an ounce.
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