Roundup: Canadian stock market extends losses over slump in oil, gold prices

Canada's main stock market in Toronto on Wednesday continued falling for a third straight day this week when the sluggish prices of commodities including oil and gold weighed on the trading market.

Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index was down 69.12 points, or 0.48 percent, to 14,307. 12 points, the lowest settlement level in the two weeks.

Resources shares, which have been on a downward slide for the first half year due to the weakness of the commodities market, led the decline in the eight most weighed sectors in TSX Wednesday, with the mining sector going down 2.3 percent and the energy sector losing 1.12 percent.

And the market dropped sharply in the opening trading following the negative impact of the slump in oil and gold prices Wednesday.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, oil prices plunged as the Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) for September delivery moved down 1.67 U.S. dollars to settle at 49.19 U.S. dollars a barrel, as government data showed U.S. crude inventories climbed last week.

Meanwhile, gold futures plunged to a five-year-low Wednesday as the U.S. dollar strengthened, with the most active gold contract for August delivery diving 12 U.S. dollars, or 1.09 percent, to settle at 1,091.50 dollars per ounce.

Resources shares in TSX as a whole tumbled sharply when the energy company Canadian Natural Resources shrank 2.2 percent to 31. 06 Canadian dollars (about 23.82 U.S. dollars) and the world's biggest gold miner Barrick Gold gave back 0.93 percent to 9.59 Canadian dollars per share.

Besides, the basic metals producers suffered more losses in the mining sector when First Quantum Minerals Ltd. dived 4.43 percent to 13.37 Canadian dollars, and Teck Resources Ltd. lost 2.53 percent to 10.41 Canadian dollars a share.

Other losers included the most weighed sector Financials, down 0.38 percent, and Telecom, lower 1.22 percent.

By contrast, Industrials and Health Care closed higher modestly by 0.76 percent and 0.36 percent, respectively.

Investors were focusing on the withering oil industry and its impact on the Canadian economy, as the falling oil prices have been trimming the profits of oil companies.

Production of oil sands, a major component of crude reserve in Canada, is expected to grow 800,000 barrels per day from 2015 to 2020, nearly 300,000 barrels per day less than prior forecast, as lower oil prices slow development of some projects, according to a report released Wednesday by IHS, a think tank headquartered in Englewood, the U.S. state of Colorado.

On the currency front, the Canadian dollar hit the lowest level in more than a decade, trading at 0.7670 U.S. dollar Wednesday, compared with 0.7723 U.S. dollar Tuesday, following the weakness both in oil and gold prices. Endite