Canadian shares tumbled as telecom shares fell on news of a new spectrum auction, and a drop in commodity prices weighed on miners and energy producers.
The resource-heavy benchmark Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index (TSE:OSPTX) slipped 0.5 percent to 15,132.26 at 12:11 p.m. in Toronto. About three shares dropped for every stock that rose as 8 out of 10 main industries declined.
Telecommunications companies lost 1.1 percent as the Canadian government will auction additional wireless spectrum next year to smaller carriers in a bid to fuel competition for telephone services. Rogers Communications Inc. (TSE:RCI.B), Canada's largest wireless carrier, dropped 1.4 percent to C$42.40. Telus Corp. (TSE:T), the third-largest, lost 1.6 percent to C$39.29, while BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE), the second-largest, slipped 0.6 percent to C$48.21. Telus, BCE and Rogers together control 90 percent of the nation’s wireless customers.
The energy sector, the main index's second most heavily weighted group, shed 1.3 percent as West Texas Intermediate crude fell for a seventh day, its longest stretch of losses since December 2009.
Suncor Energy Inc. (TSE:SU), the nation's largest energy company by market value, decreased 0.5 percent to C$45.10. Enbridge Inc. (TSE:ENB), Canada's largest pipeline company, stumbled 0.8 percent to C$50.18.
Baytex Energy Corp. (TSE:BTE), a Canadian heavy-crude producer, declined 0.3 percent to $48.42 after updating spending and production guidance for the second half of this year that includes the acquisition of Aurora Oil & Gas Ltd, which was completed on June 11.
WTI for August delivery fell 0.7 percent, to $103.29 a barrel at 11:45 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The financials group, which accounts for approximately 34 percent of the main measure, more than any other group, lost 0.4 percent. Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY), which has the heaviest weighting in the index, was little changed at C$77.13. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD), the second-largest bank by market value, gave up 0.2 percent at C$54.70.
The materials sub-index, which includes mining shares, inched down 0.2 percent as gold extended a decline from a three- month high. Barrick Gold Corp. (TSE:ABX) inched up 0.3 percent to C$19.35. Goldcorp Inc. (TSE:G) edged down 0.2 percent.
Gold for August delivery dropped 0.3 percent to $1,316.60 an ounce at 12:08 p.m. on the Comex in New York.
Air Canada (TSE:AC.B), the nation's largest airline, fell 1.4 percent to C$9.91. The company said system-wide traffic was up 9.8 percent last month on a capacity increase of 9.8 percent. It said it had a record load factor of 85.7 percent for the month.
Rival WestJet Airlines Ltd. (TSE:WJA) edged up 0.7 percent to C$27.17 after saying its load factor was 77.4 percent in June. Traffic and capacity rose 5.0 and 4.3 percent, respectively. BMO raised its rating on WestJet to "outperform" from "market perform".
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (TSE:ATD.B), the largest public convenience-store operator in North America, slumped 1.1 percent to C$29.03 after reporting earnings excluding items of 22 cents per share in the fiscal fourth quarter, below the 25 cents per share predicted by analysts on average.
The junior S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (CVE:OSPVX) sank 0.6 percent to 1,031.23 at 12:15 p.m. Spartan Energy Corp. (CVE:SPE), the heaviest stock in the gauge, sagged 3.6 percent to C$4.05.
In economic news, Canadian building permits rose in May, led by multi-family dwellings in Toronto and Vancouver and national gains in commercial projects such as shopping malls. The value of municipal permits rose 13.8 percent to C$6.95 billion, Statistics Canada said today, faster than the 2 percent gain forecast in an economist survey conducted by Bloomberg. Toronto permits jumped 37.6 percent to C$1.47 billion in May, and in Vancouver they surged 59.4 percent to C$594 million.
In the U.S. market, shares declined as investors considered valuations and bet the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates sooner than expected. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) slid 0.4 percent at 11:17 a.m. in New York. The 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) lost 0.4 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) surrendered 0.6 percent. Most followed shares included GT Advanced Technologies, IBM, King Digital, Expedia, American Apparel, PetSmart, Baytex Energy, Archer Daniels Midland, and AbbVie.
Reported by Proactive Investors 8 hours ago.
The resource-heavy benchmark Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index (TSE:OSPTX) slipped 0.5 percent to 15,132.26 at 12:11 p.m. in Toronto. About three shares dropped for every stock that rose as 8 out of 10 main industries declined.
Telecommunications companies lost 1.1 percent as the Canadian government will auction additional wireless spectrum next year to smaller carriers in a bid to fuel competition for telephone services. Rogers Communications Inc. (TSE:RCI.B), Canada's largest wireless carrier, dropped 1.4 percent to C$42.40. Telus Corp. (TSE:T), the third-largest, lost 1.6 percent to C$39.29, while BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE), the second-largest, slipped 0.6 percent to C$48.21. Telus, BCE and Rogers together control 90 percent of the nation’s wireless customers.
The energy sector, the main index's second most heavily weighted group, shed 1.3 percent as West Texas Intermediate crude fell for a seventh day, its longest stretch of losses since December 2009.
Suncor Energy Inc. (TSE:SU), the nation's largest energy company by market value, decreased 0.5 percent to C$45.10. Enbridge Inc. (TSE:ENB), Canada's largest pipeline company, stumbled 0.8 percent to C$50.18.
Baytex Energy Corp. (TSE:BTE), a Canadian heavy-crude producer, declined 0.3 percent to $48.42 after updating spending and production guidance for the second half of this year that includes the acquisition of Aurora Oil & Gas Ltd, which was completed on June 11.
WTI for August delivery fell 0.7 percent, to $103.29 a barrel at 11:45 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The financials group, which accounts for approximately 34 percent of the main measure, more than any other group, lost 0.4 percent. Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY), which has the heaviest weighting in the index, was little changed at C$77.13. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD), the second-largest bank by market value, gave up 0.2 percent at C$54.70.
The materials sub-index, which includes mining shares, inched down 0.2 percent as gold extended a decline from a three- month high. Barrick Gold Corp. (TSE:ABX) inched up 0.3 percent to C$19.35. Goldcorp Inc. (TSE:G) edged down 0.2 percent.
Gold for August delivery dropped 0.3 percent to $1,316.60 an ounce at 12:08 p.m. on the Comex in New York.
Air Canada (TSE:AC.B), the nation's largest airline, fell 1.4 percent to C$9.91. The company said system-wide traffic was up 9.8 percent last month on a capacity increase of 9.8 percent. It said it had a record load factor of 85.7 percent for the month.
Rival WestJet Airlines Ltd. (TSE:WJA) edged up 0.7 percent to C$27.17 after saying its load factor was 77.4 percent in June. Traffic and capacity rose 5.0 and 4.3 percent, respectively. BMO raised its rating on WestJet to "outperform" from "market perform".
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (TSE:ATD.B), the largest public convenience-store operator in North America, slumped 1.1 percent to C$29.03 after reporting earnings excluding items of 22 cents per share in the fiscal fourth quarter, below the 25 cents per share predicted by analysts on average.
The junior S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (CVE:OSPVX) sank 0.6 percent to 1,031.23 at 12:15 p.m. Spartan Energy Corp. (CVE:SPE), the heaviest stock in the gauge, sagged 3.6 percent to C$4.05.
In economic news, Canadian building permits rose in May, led by multi-family dwellings in Toronto and Vancouver and national gains in commercial projects such as shopping malls. The value of municipal permits rose 13.8 percent to C$6.95 billion, Statistics Canada said today, faster than the 2 percent gain forecast in an economist survey conducted by Bloomberg. Toronto permits jumped 37.6 percent to C$1.47 billion in May, and in Vancouver they surged 59.4 percent to C$594 million.
In the U.S. market, shares declined as investors considered valuations and bet the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates sooner than expected. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) slid 0.4 percent at 11:17 a.m. in New York. The 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) lost 0.4 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) surrendered 0.6 percent. Most followed shares included GT Advanced Technologies, IBM, King Digital, Expedia, American Apparel, PetSmart, Baytex Energy, Archer Daniels Midland, and AbbVie.
Reported by Proactive Investors 8 hours ago.