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Canadian stocks retreat as energy, commodity weigh

Xinhua, July 26, 2016 Adjust font size:

Canada's main stock market in Toronto took a downturn on Monday as energy and mining stocks retreated along with crude and commodity prices.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index lost 102.56 point, or 0.70 percent, to close at 14,498.10 points. Six of the TSX index's eight main sub-sectors were lower.

The TSX energy group retreated 3.71 percent as a whole, as crude oil prices fell to two-and-a-half month lows amid worries about a global supply glut and economic headwinds.

U.S. Texas light sweet crude for September delivery lost 1.06 U.S. dollars to settle at 43.13 U.S. dollars a barrel, while Brent crude for September delivery erased 0.97 U.S. dollars to close at 44.72 U.S. dollars a barrel.

The most influential weights on the TSX index included its biggest gold miners and oil and gas producers, with Barrick Gold down 3.03 percent at 26.21 Canadian dollars (19.83 U.S. dollars) and Suncor Energy falling 3.28 percent to 34.82 Canadian dollars.

Gold fell as the U.S. dollar firmed ahead of central bank meetings in the United States and Japan.

The most influential gainers on the index included Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., which rose 0.63 percent to 30.22 Canadian dollars after a sharp fall in the previous session, and Rogers Communications Inc., which added 1.74 percent to 57.80 Canadian dollars.

Utility company TransAlta Corporation gained 5.56 percent to 6.45 Canadian dollars.

Canadian National Railway added 0.90 percent to 83.99 Canadian dollars after the company reported slightly lower second quarter earnings on Monday as a decline in shipments cut into revenue, but said it expects volumes to improve in the months ahead.

In the housing market, the British Columbia provincial government introduced legislation Monday that would add a 15 percent property transfer tax on foreign nationals buying real estate in Metro Vancouver.

The additional tax will take effect Aug. 2 and apply to foreign buyers registering the purchase of residential homes in Metro Vancouver, excluding treaty lands in the Tsawwassen First Nation.

The commodity-linked Canadian dollar hit its weakest level against its U.S. counterpart since March, hurt by a slide in oil prices.

The Canadian dollar traded lower at 0.7564 U.S. dollar, compared with Friday's closing rate of 0.7607 U.S. dollar. Endit