Canadian market suffers worst loss in five months

Canada's main stock market in Toronto closed the week with its largest single-day decline in five months, as losses in Energy and Financial sectors contributed.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite plunged 247.73 points, or 1.57 percent, to close the week at 15,533.47 points. All ten sub-groups lost ground on Friday.

After reaching an all-time high on Tuesday, the TSX has fallen three straight sessions. Friday's loss was the steepest single-day decline since Sept. 13, 2016 when the index fell 248.04 points.

The Energy and Financial groups, which accounts for a combined 55 percent of the index, had the biggest influence on the day's result, dipping 3.20 percent and 1.41 percent, respectively.

The TSX Energy group was hit hard as all of the top-10 group members saw declines. Suncor Energy Inc., the largest constituent in the group, dipped 3.76 percent to close the day at 41.24 Canadian dollars (31.46 U.S. dollars). Meanwhile, Calgary-based Husky Energy Inc. shares slumped 5.49 percent to 15.50 Canadian dollars (11.82 U.S. dollars) after reporting an 8.4 percent decline in oil production compared to 2015.

Top-10 members Crescent Point Energy Corp. and ARC Resources Ltd. also lost ground on the day, slipping 4.70 percent and 4.62 percent, respectively.

The story was the same for the Financials group, as all of the top-ten members finished the day lower. Shares of Royal Bank of Canada, the country's largest bank by market capitalization, retreated 1.68 percent to 96.61 Canadian dollars (73.69 U.S. dollars) despite the firm reporting a 24 percent increase in net income compared to the same period last year.

Also contributing to the group's demise were Toronto-Dominion Bank (1.33 percent decline), Bank of Montreal (1.69 percent decline), and Manulife Financial Corporation (2.01 percent decline).

Other groups that fell by more than one percentage point on the day were: Health Care (2.31 percent), Consumer Staples (1.58 percent), Consumer Discretionary (1.47 percent), Industrials (1.38 percent), Materials (1.37 percent), Information Technology (1.35 percent), and Telecommunications (1.17 percent).

The Consumer Discretionary group, which is made up of producers of non-essentials products such as automobiles, apparel and entertainment, slipped as auto manufacturer Magna International Inc. shares slid 4.68 percent to 56.43 Canadian dollars (43.03 U.S. dollars), after reporting worst-than-expected fourth quarter results due to increased costs.

The TSX Materials group, which consists of producers of gold, precious metals, and raw materials, fell despite the price of gold reaching a two-month high. The spot price of bullion rose 7.60 U.S. dollars to close at 1,256.90 U.S. dollars an ounce. Meanwhile, the same weight of silver climbed 17 cents to 18.32 U.S. dollars and a pound of copper jumped 3.16 cents to 2.6776 U.S. dollars.

Gold miners Eldorado Gold Corporation and Argonaut Gold Inc. were hit the hardest, plunging 10.97 percent and 9.06 percent, respectively. Also declining were Vancouver-based Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. and B2Gold Corp., losing 5.10 percent and 3.30 percent separately.

The Utilities group took the softest blow on the day, retreating 0.44 percent.

On the economic slate, Statitics Canada reported that consumer price index in January rose 0.9 percent, improving the yearly inflation rate from 1.5 percent to 2.1 percent. This marks the first time since Oct. 2014 that the rate has exceeded 2.0 percent.

The Canadian dollar inched up 0.03 cents to close the week at 0.7628 U.S. dollars. Endite