Toronto stocks suffer biggest loss in 7 weeks

Canada's main stock plunged to its lowest point since mid-September due to slumping energy prices and uncertainty over next week's U.S. presidential election.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index dipped 183.60 points, or 1.24 percent, to close at 14,594.72 points. All ten sub-sectors lost ground in the session.

The decline was the index's largest setback in a single day since Sep. 13, when it fell 248.04 points.

January contract price of Brent Crude oil in London fell 1.26 U.S. dollars to 47.14 after U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that crude inventories spiked 14.4 million barrels, eclipsing the market expectation of 1 million barrels. After settling above 50 dollars a barrel for the majority of October, Brent prices have declined 6.41 percent over the last four days.

Natural gas also trended in the wrong direction, falling 4.31 percent to 2.777 U.S. dollars per British thermal unit (BTU), a third consecutive day of decreases. As a result, energy makers Baytex Energy Corp. and TransCanada Corporation saw shares dip 5.60 percent and 4.57 percent, respectively.

Health care continued a rollercoaster week, giving up 3.21 percent on the day after gaining 6.12 percent on Tuesday. Laval-based drug maker Valeant Pharmaceuticals made headlines again, as shares dipped 9.11 percent to 28.34 CAD (21.15 U.S. dollars) after a lawsuit was filed by investors over an unsuccessful launch of a female libido pill.

Valeant stocks opened the week down 12 percent as former executives were being investigated for accounting fraud and then surged 30 percent after reports of a potential 10-billion-U.S.-dollar deal to sell their stomach-drug company to a Japanese firm.

With uncertainty in the market, spot price of gold advanced 0.74 percent to 1,297.50 U.S. dollars an ounce. However, the materials sub-sector, which features miners of gold and other metals, fell 1.81 percent in the session. Toronto-based Detour Gold Corp shares sank 18.78 percent to 21.23 CAD (15.85 U.S. dollars) after providing a poor 2017 production forecast.

The financial groups also suffered on the day, retreating 0.79 percent. Royal Bank of Canada shares fell 0.77 percent, while Bank of Montreal shares retreated 0.65 percent.

Among the other sub-sectors, Utilities and Consumer Staples gave up 1.15 percent and 1.14 percent, respectively.

On a positive note, Saskatoon-based uranium producer Cameco Corp shares soared 12.06 percent to 11.15 CAD (8.32 U.S. dollars) after quarterly profits beat expectations.

The Canadian dollar ended the session down 0.0005 to 0.7464 U.S. dollars. Endit