Canada’s resource-heavy main stock index fell on Wednesday as gold miners and energy companies declined, while domestic data on the housing sector and wholesale trade pointed to slowing economic growth.
At 10:20 a.m. ET, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was down 91.16 points, or 0.44%, at 20,613.63. Wall Street’s main indexes also slid as strong economic data fanned worries about prolonged rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
The broader materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, dropped 2.0% as gold and metal prices fell against a strong dollar.
The energy sector fell 0.8% as oil prices declined after an industry report from the American Petroleum Institute (API) pointed to a jump in U.S crude inventory.
Meanwhile, the domestic housing starts and wholesale trade both decreased for the month of January, showing signs of a slowing economy.
“The Canadian economy is more interest rate sensitive, so you’ve got data that’s sort of confirming that our economy continues to moderate,” said Christine Tan, portfolio manager at SLGI Asset Management Inc.
“But then it’s complicated by the fact that in the U.S., data is still quite hot, pressuring the Federal Reserve to potentially do more on the interest rate.”
In earnings, Barrick Gold Corp beat analysts’ estimates for quarterly profit and also announced a new share repurchase of up to $1 billion. However, its stock fell 3.4%, mirroring weakness in the sector.
Suncor Energy Inc gained 2% after the energy company reported a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit, helped by higher crude prices.
Bausch + Lomb Corp jumped 9.5% after the eye-care company named Brent Saunders, the former chief executive of Allergan, as its CEO and chairman.
Cloud services firm Converge Technology Solutions plunged 12.8% to the bottom of the TSX, as multiple brokerages cut price target on the stock following its preliminary results for full-year 2022.
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