TSX Drifts Lower On Weak Commodities, Rising Bond Yields

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market traded in negative territory right through the session on Thursday, as weak commodity prices and rising bond yields prompted investors to shun equities.

Information technology, healthcare and consumer discretionary stocks were the prominent losers. Energy stocks too were mostly weak, tracking crude's sharp slide. Financial, materials and industrials stocks ended mixed.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended down 65.38 points, or 0.41%, at 16,006.67. The index scaled a high of 16,057.68 and a low of 15,928.16 in the session. On Wednesday, the Index ended up 54.82 points, or 0.34%, at 16,072.05.

The Capped Consumer Discretionary Index shed 1.61%. Great Canadian Gaming Corporation (GC.TO) and Canada Goose Holdings Inc. (GOOS.TO) declined by 4.2% and 4%, respectively. Magna International (MG.TO), Dollarama Inc. (DOL.TO), The Stars Group Inc. (TSGI.TO) and Linamar Corporation (LNR.TO) lost between 2% and 3.4%.

The Capped Healthcare Index declined by more than 3%. Bausch Health Companies Inc. (BHC.TO) lost 5.8%. Aurora Cannabis Inc. (ACB.TO) and Aphria Inc. (APH.TO) lost more than 3%, while Extendicare (EXE.TO) and Canopy Growth Corporation (WEED.TO) lost 1.5% nd 1.3%, respectively.

The Capped Information Technology Index ended 2.19% down. Shopify Inc. (SHOP.TO) ended 6.6% down, Descartes Systems Group Inc. (DSG.TO) declined by 3.4% and BlackBerry (BB.TO) lost 2.2%.

Among bank stocks, Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) ended modestly higher. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO), Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) and National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) declined by 0.3% to 0.7%, while Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) and Canadian Imperial Bank Of Commerce (CM.TO) ended flat.

In the energy space, Encana Corporation (ECA.TO) lost nearly 3% and Tourmaline Oil Corp. (TOU.TO) tanked 4.4%. Baytex Energy (BTE.TO) ended more than 5% down and Cenovus Energy Inc. (CVE.TO), ARC Resources (ARX.TO) and PrairieSky Royalty (PSK.TO) lost 1.3 to 1.7%, while Husky Energy Inc. (HSE.TO) gained 2.6% and Suncor Energy Inc. (SU.TO) advanced by 1.15%.

In the materials section, Hudbay Minerals (HBM.TO) lost more than 6%, Teck Resources (TECK.B.TO) declined by 2.6% and Methanex Corporation (MX.TO) lost 1.2%. B2 Gold Corp. (BTO.TO) gained nearly 2%, CCL Industries (CCL.B.TO) gained 1.4% and Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (WPM.TO) ended 1% up.

Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (CP.TO) shares ended nearly 3% up after the company said it expects revenues to grow by 19% to an all-time record high of approximately $1.9 billion, in the third quarter. The company has also raised its 2018 full-year guidance.

K-Bro Linen Inc. (KBL.TO) today announced that it has successfully completed the previously announced $4.7 million acquisition of Linitek, a private laundry and linen services company operating in Calgary, Alberta. The stock edged up marginally.

On the economic front, a report from Western University's Ivey School of Business showed that its Purchasing Managers Index for September came in with a reading of 50.4. That was substantially lower than August's 61.9.

Asian markets ended mostly lower on Thursday after upbeat U.S. economic data drove 10-year U.S. Treasury yields to their highest level since 2011, raising concerns the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates aggressively.

European markets too drifted lower due to the sharp jump in U.S. treasury yields amid expectations of further rate hikes on the back of recent upbeat U.S. economic data.

In economic news from eurozone, the German construction sector saw a loss of growth momentum in September, data from IHS Markit revealed Thursday. The construction Purchasing Managers' Index came in at 50.2 in September, down from 51.5 in August.

Data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders showed UK car registrations plunged in September as regulatory changes impacted supply. The new car market posted a double-digit annual decline of 20.5% in September, reversing a 23.1% rise in August.

U.S. stocks ended notably lower, with the Dow and the S&P 500 both declining by 0.8% and the Nasdaq losing about 1.6%. The notable weakness on Wall Street came as a recent jump by U.S. treasury yields has raised concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

In U.S. economic news today, the Labor Department released a report showing a bigger than expected drop in initial jobless claims in the week ended September 29th. The report said initial jobless claims fell to 207,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week's revised level of 215,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 213,000 from the 214,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Meanwhile, data from the Commerce Department showed a bigger than expected 2.3% jump in factory orders in the month of August. In July, order were down by a revised 0.5%.

In commodities, crude oil futures for November delivery ended down $2.08, or 2.7%, at $74.33 a barrel. That was crude's worst single-session loss in about three weeks.

Gold futures for December ended down $1.30, or 0.1%, at $1,201.60 an ounce.

Silver futures for December declined by $0.080, to $14.590 an ounce.

Copper futures for December settled at $2.7775 per pound, losing $0.0565 for the session.