Canada’s main stock index fell on Thursday in a broad-based selloff, with technology and commodity-linked stocks weighing the most after U.S. economic data triggered fresh concerns over the Federal Reserve’s continued rate hike trajectory.
At 10:08 a.m. ET, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was down 178.69 points, or 0.91%, at 19,392.41.
Data showed on Thursday that U.S. jobless claims increased less than expected last week, pointing to a still tight U.S. labor market, while the U.S. economy rebounded faster than previously estimated in the third quarter.
Wall Street’s main indexes also fell, with investors worried that the signs of economic resilience would give the Fed more cover to keep hiking rates aggressively.
“The broad risk tone across global markets has certainly been set by the Federal Reserve this year, and that is poised to continue into 2023,” said Chhad Aul, chief investment officer and head of multi-asset solutions at SLGI Asset Management Inc.
“These dynamics have been the primary driver of some very strong bear market rallies across markets this year.”
All 10 major sectors were trading in the red, with rate-sensitive technology stocks losing the most, falling 2.1% with BlackBerry down 4.7% and leading declines.
Canada’s energy and materials piled on the losses, falling 0.9% and 0.8% respectively.
Commodity-fueled gains earlier in the year have helped the benchmark index outperform the U.S. S&P 500 index so far this year, losing 8.5% versus a 19.6% drop in the U.S. benchmark.
The TSX is set to decline on a yearly-basis for the first time since 2018.
Among individual stocks, Superior Plus Corp topped the index, gaining 4.6% after the natural gas supplier is set to acquire Certarus Ltd for C$1.05 billion ($771 million) including debt, both companies said.
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