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Canadian stock market plunges as gold falls to 3-month low

Xinhua, October 5, 2016 Adjust font size:

Canada's main stock market was hit hard on Tuesday as gold prices fell to their lowest since before Britain voted to leave the European Union in late June.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index dipped 168.03 points, or 1.14 percent, to close at 14,521.01 points. Eight of the 10 sub-sectors of the index lost ground on the day.

Gold prices plummeted 40.72 U.S. dollars on the day as Globex prices closed at 1268.28 dollars an ounce. The 3.11-percent decline is the largest single-day decline in three years and the lowest price since June 22. Silver was also down to a three-month low, falling 5.51 percent to 17.85 dollars an ounce.

The TSX Materials group, which features miners of gold and other precious metals, fell a staggering 6.71 percent on the day.

Shares of Barrick Gold Corporation, the world's largest gold mining company, fell 10.49 percent to 15.45 dollars. Meanwhile, Toronto-based Yamana Gold Inc. and Kinross Gold Corporation saw declines of 12.43 percent and 12.62 percent, respectively to 3.74 dollars and 3.57 dollars a share.

The financial sector retreated 0.15 percent on the day, as Bank of Montreal (BMO) shares fell 1.78 percent to close the day at 63.89 dollars after the bank revised its capital for the previous three quarters, suggesting more funds will need to be raised before additional acquisitions can be made.

Crude oil prices were steady on the day, as U.S. light sweet crude oil for November delivery in New York fell 0.03 dollars to 48.62 dollars a barrel, while delivery of a barrel of Brent crude for December inched 0.01 dollars to 50.82 dollars in London.

The Canadian dollar fell 0.0049 to close the day at 0.7579, compared to Monday's closing rate of 0.7628 U.S. dollars. Endi