TSX Plunges Nearly 2%, Extends Losses To 5th Straight Session

(RTTNews) - Canadian shares plunged on Thursday, extending losses to yet another session, as worries about the coronavirus outbreak rose, triggering a sell-off in the market.

The session ended prematurely today due to a technical issue. The S&P/TSX Composite Index was down 324.48 points, or 1.9%, at 16,717.44 a litte before 2 PM. The exchange later confirmed that the market would remain closed for the day.

Shares from healthcare, materials and energy sections were among the biggest losers. The Capped Healthcare Index drifted down 3.62%, the Materials Index shed about 3.2% and the Energy index lost 2.7%.

Financial shares tumbled as well, dragging the Capped Financial Index down by about 2.1%. Consumer staples and consumer discretionary shares also ended mostly lower.

ARC Resources (ARX.TO), Baytex Energy (BTE.TO), Aphria Inc. (APHA.TO), Yamana Gold (YRI.TO), Bombardier Inc (BBD.B.TO), Barrick Gold Corporation (ABX.TO), Kinross Gold (K.TO), Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO) and Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) lost 4 to 7.4% on fairly large volumes.

Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) ended more than 3% down, despite reporting a surge in net income. The bank reported net income of C$2.99 billion or C$1.61 per share for the first quarter, up from C$2.41 billion or C$1.27 per share in the year-ago period. The bank also declared a dividend of C$0.79 per fully paid common share, up 7% compared with the last quarter.

Manulife Financial Corporation (MFC.TO), Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO), Enbridge (ENB.TO) and Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) also declined sharply.

The market breadth was very weak. As many as 1608 stocks declined in the session, while 232 stocks moved up and 158 stocks settled flat.

U.S. stocks plunged sharply and the major averages all ended at their worst levels of the day. The Dow and the S&P 500 both ended down 4.4%, while the Nasdaq plummeted 4.6%.

Markets across Europe and Asia-Pacific region ended lower on Thursday.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended down $1.64, or about 3.4%, at $47.09 a barrel, the lowest finish since January 2019.

Gold futures for April ended down $0.60, or about 0.04%, at $1,642.50 an ounce.

Silver futures for May ended down $0.179 at $17.735 an ounce, while Copper futures for May settled at $2.5715 per pound, down marginally from previous close.

Investors across the globe were keen on pressing sales amid mounting worries about the economic impact of the coronavirus, which has reportedly spread to over 50 countries.

China reported fewer deaths due to the coronavirus and the People's Bank of China said that it would ensure ample liquidity through targeted reserve requirement ratio (RRR) cuts in appropriate time to help achieve economic goals for this year.

Meanwhile, more patients have tested positive for coronavirus in England, and Italy is struggling to contain the rapidly spreading outbreak that made it the country with more coronavirus cases outside Asia than anywhere else.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed a coronavirus infection in an American who reportedly did not have relevant travel history or exposure to another known patient with the disease.

The CDC said the patient's exposure is currently unknown and could be the first instance of community spread of the virus in the U.S.

Additionally, California Governor Gavin Newsom said 33 people have tested positive for the coronavirus and the state is currently monitoring at least 8,400 others.