Bay Street Stocks May Continue Downward Spiral -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks may be in for another rough session Thursday, as rock-bottom crude oil prices and doubts about the domestic economy take center stage.

Brutal losses have been seen in most sectors, but energy and mining companies have suffered the most since the global market crash of 2008.

It's mostly doom-and-gloom right now, but the Bank of Canada won't be riding to the rescue anytime soon, having maintained its benchmark interest rate at 0.5 percent.

The BoC yesterday issued a relatively rosy outlook for 2016, hinting that further rate cuts are not in the cards.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 159.13 points, or 1.33 percent, to 11,843.11 -- the lowest in more than three years.

In corporate news, Canadian Pacific Railway (CP.TO) reported a 29 percent decline in fourth-quarter profit.

Emera Inc. (EMA.TO) announced the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved the acquisition of TECO Energy Inc. (TE).