Canada's main stock index hid just south of breakeven by noon Thursday from the prior session's selloff, as gains in telecom shares countered losses in the materials sector.
The TSX Composite Index dipped 45.83 points to 22,805.34.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.09 cents to 73.02 cents U.S.
In corporate news, Dundee Corporation announced the acquisition of 9.76 million common shares of Greenheart Gold. Dundee shares didn’t budge during the morning from Wednesday’s close of $1.30.
Elsewhere, Tenaz Energy shares jumped $1.40 or 38.2% to $5.07, after the energy company signed an agreement to acquire all issued and outstanding shares of NAM Offshore B.V. for $180.33 million.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange sank 5.07 points to 583.10.
Six of the 12 TSX subgroups were in plus territory, with communications better by 0.6%, materials up 0.3%, and energy ahead 0.2%.
The five laggards were weighed most by materials, fading 1.5%, while information technology backpedaled 0.9%, and gold dulled in price 0.6%,
Health-care stocks were unchanged by noon EDT.
ON WALLSTREET
The NASDAQ fell on Thursday, as the technology sector continued struggling amid the market’s rotation on hopes of easing monetary policy.
The Dow Jones Industrials fell from the dizzy heights of this past week, skidding 251.45 points to 40,946.63
The S&P 500 index dipped 36.19 points to 5,552.08.
The NASDAQ dumped 175.51 points, or 1%, to 17,821.42.
The NASDAQ’s underperformance marks a continuation of the broader shift away from tech seen in recent days. Wall Street has dumped shares of artificial intelligence plays as the growing likelihood of a September interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve bolstered optimism in the broader market. On the other hand, that’s largely helped small-cap and more cyclical names, which are seen as bigger beneficiaries of lower borrowing costs.
Information technology stocks also weighed down the broad S&P 500, with the sector tumbling more than 1%. Micron Technology dropped more than 3%, while big tech names Apple and Microsoft respectively slid more than 2% and 1%.
This trend came to a head on Wednesday, when the Nasdaq tumbled 2.8% in its worst day since December 2022. Wednesday also marked the first session since 2001 where the Nasdaq posted a loss exceeding 2.5%, while the blue-chip Dow registered a gain. On the other hand, the Dow was propelled to its first-ever closing level above 41,000 in the session.
Thursday’s trading offers a respite from recent days, with Wall Street shares of artificial intelligence plays as the growing likelihood of a September interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve bolstered optimism in the broader market. That’s particularly helped small-cap and more cyclical names, which are seen as bigger beneficiaries to lower borrowing costs.
In corporate news, Discover Financial popped 2% after its second-quarter results topped expectations. Beyond Meat tumbled close to 11% after The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar, that the meat substitute company is meeting with bondholders to begin discussions about restructuring its balance sheet.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury waned, raising yields to 4.18% from Wednesday’s 4.15%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices poked ahead 18 cents at $83.03 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices strengthened $1.80 to $2,461.70.
