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Roundup: Canadian stock market plunges as gold hit by plunging bullion prices

Xinhua, July 21, 2015 Adjust font size:

Canada's main stock market in Toronto on Monday hit one-week low on the closing bell as the gold shares were hammered down sharply by sudden selloffs in the global bullion market.

Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index nosedived 217.29 points, or 1.48 percent, to 14, 425.55 points.

The mining sector vapored 3.22 percent, with gold shares shrinking greatly after gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped sharply Monday over investors' expectations for a future increase in the U. S. interest rate.

The most active gold contract for August delivery lost 25.1 U.S. dollars, or 2.22 percent, to settle at 1,106.80 U.S. dollars per ounce.

S&P/TSX Global Gold Index tumbled 11.21 percent to 121.39 points, as heavy losses could be seen across the gold sector. Barrick Gold Corp. dropped 15.96 percent to 9.58 Canadian dollars (about 7.37 U.S. dollars)a share and Goldcorp Inc. plunged 12.36 percent to 16.74 Canadian dollars a share.

In the meantime, the basic metals group as a whole declined when the leading companies Teck Resources Ltd. tumbled 5.93 percent to 10.62 Canadian dollars a share and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. dropped 2.18 percent to 13.9 Canadian dollars per share.

The energy sector, another heavily weighed group in TSX, also fell 3.3 percent over the sluggish oil prices. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. retreated 4 percent to 31.47 Canadian dollars and Canada's biggest oil and gas producer Suncor Energy Inc. lost 2.08 percent to 33.86 Canadian dollars a share.

The most influential sector Financials was down 0.65 percent as well when Toronto-Dominion declined 0.62 percent to 52.70 Canadian dollars.

Other losers included Utilities, down 1.71 percent, and Info Tech, down 0.73 percent.

However, Health Care, the only gainer in the eight most weighed sectors in TSX Monday, inched up 0.16 percent, when Canada's biggest drug maker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International added 1. 77 percent to 311.94 Canadian dollars per share.

On the currency front, the Canadian dollar on Monday was traded at 0.7694 U.S. dollar, lower than 0.7700 U.S. dollar Friday.

And according to a report released Friday by Scotiabank, the third biggest bank in Canada, a stronger greenback, especially with the U.S. central bank's contemplating tightening policy by the end of the year, is a major factor that leads to a lower trading range for the Canadian dollar. Endite