Equities throughout North America took a beating Thursday, as oil prices ascended and the economic picture clouded.
The TSX staggered another 457.69 points, or 1.4%, to close Thursday at 31,854.98
The dollar dipped 0.04 cents to 72.79 cents U.S.
Silver miners such as Discovery Silver lost 25 cents, or 3.2%, to $7.63, and Endeavour Silver withered $1.07, or 8.2%, to $11.94, tracking hefty declines in prices for the white metal.
Gold stocks took the brunt of investors’ wrath, as B2Gold plummeted 52 cents, or 8.3%, to $5.78, while shares in Novagold lost 93 cents, or 7.9%, to $10.82.
In materials, Orla Mining docked $1.27, or 6.4%, to $18.46, while G Mining Ventures let go of $2.93, or 6.9%, to $39.50.
In consumer staples, Premium Brands Holdings ditched $6.07, or 6.5%, to $87.05, while Alimentation Couche-Tard slid $2.16, or 2.7%, to $76,53.
Energy tried to move things upward, with Vermilion Energy ahead $249, or 14.4%, to $19.83, while Cenovus grabbed $1.37, or 4.2%, to $34.25.
In tech stocks, Celestica rocketed $14.72, or 3.9%, to $390.85, while Bitfarms forged ahead 11 cents, or 3.5%, to $3.28.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 39.45 points, or 4%, to 936.57.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower on the day, as gold faded 5.9%, materials tunneled 5.1%, and consumer staples shed 2.1%.
The lone gainers were energy, leaping 2.6%, and information technology, up 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities pared losses on Thursday, while oil prices pulled back as Wall Street watched for more developments in the Iran war.
The Dow Jones Industrials came off their lows of the day, but ended still negative 203.72 points to 46,021.43.
The S&P 500 index fell 18.21 points to 6,606.49.
The NASDAQ reversed 61.73 points to 22,090.69.
It was the second consecutive losing day for all three major averages.
Oil prices eased in post-settle trading as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to the media, saying that Israel was helping the U.S. “in intel and other means” open the Strait of Hormuz. Netanyahu also said that Iran had lost the ability to enrich uranium and make ballistic missiles and that the war may end sooner than people think.
The spike in international oil follows Iran striking a key liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility in Qatar as well as an attack on Iran’s South Pars gas field by Israel. Iran then retaliated by hitting Qatari energy facilities.
In tech, Micron Technology shares came under pressure Thursday, losing 3.8%. Citi analysts in particular attributed the move to just “some profit taking,” given that a memory supply shortage helped the semiconductor company nearly triple its revenue in its most recent quarter.
The selloff comes after a surprisingly hot producer prices report, and greater inflation expectations from the Federal Reserve, added to fears that the war in Iran could mean the U.S. economy is headed for a stagflation scenario — or a period of lower growth and higher pricing pressures.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury regained strength, lowering yields back to 4.25% from Wednesday’s 4.27%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices faded $1.32 to $95.00 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices collapsed $235.10 to $4,661.10 U.S. an ounce.
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