Canadian shares dropped, halting two days of gains, as commodities producers slumped with the price of crude and metals. The benchmark Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index (TSE:OSPTX) slid 0.4 percent to 14,834.38 at 12:25 p.m. in Toronto. Three shares declined for every issue that advanced as seven out of the ten main share groups were in the negative territory.
The energy sector, the main index's second most heavily weighted group, fell 1.2 percent as global oil prices fell. Suncor Energy (TSE:SU), Canada's largest oil sands producer, slipped 2.2 percent to C$35.45. Enbridge (TSE:ENB), Canada's largest pipeline company, skidded 0.3 percent to C$56.69. Canadian Natural Resources Limited (TSE:CNQ), Canada’s second-largest energy producer, slipped 1.1 percent to C$36.66.
Trinidad Drilling (TSE:TDG/Trinidad-Drilling/" rel="7902">TSE:TDG) fe.. 6.7 percent to $4.42. The builder of Western Canada’s biggest energy drilling rig has agreed to buy CanElson Drilling, combining their contract drilling fleets.
Light, sweet crude for July delivery recently fell 1.3 percent to $60.66 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent, the global benchmark, fell 85 1.3 percent to $64.85 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.
The materials sub-index, which includes mining shares, slumped 1.4 percent as gold prices fell today, snapping three days of gains.
Goldcorp (TSE:G), Canada’s largest gold miner by market value, fell 1.5 percent to C$20.90. Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX), the second-largest, slipped 2.2 percent to C$13.94.
Spot gold was down 0.5 percent at $1,179.91 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures for August delivery were down $7.00 an ounce at $1,179.50.
Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, slid 0.4 percent. Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY), which has the heaviest weighting in the index, fell 0.3 percent to C$78.03. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD), the second-largest bank by market value, rose 0.1 percent to C$54.57.
Transat A.T. (TSE:TRZ.B) rose 5.7 percent to C$7.42. The tourism and travel company reported stronger second-quarter results than it was expecting. The company swung to a profit of C$24.7 million from a loss of C$7.9 million in 2014.
BRP (TSE:DOO) advanced 3.5 percent to $27.98 after saying revenue for the first quarter rose 18 percent to C$898.1 million. The recreational-vehicle maker also reported better-than-expected earnings.
COM DEV International (TSE:CDV) fell 1 percent to C$5.80. The space hardware and services company posted a loss, hurt by one-time items.
The junior S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (CVE:OSPVX) slid 0.2 percent to 680.92 at 12:21 p.m.
In economic news, Statistics Canada said today that its new housing price index rose 0.1 per cent in April, following no change in March. The move was driven in large part by gains in Toronto, Oshawa, Ont., and Vancouver.
The Bank of Canada said a crash in housing prices that are overvalued by as much as 30 percent remains the biggest risk to the country’s financial system, a danger that has edged higher on the drop in crude oil prices.
In the U.S. market, shares rose as investors welcomed a good retail sales report while remaining cautious following mixed news on the Greece debt talks. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) gained 0.2% to 2,109.92 at 11:50 a.m in New York. The 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) advanced 0.3 percent to 18,057, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (INDEXNASDAQ:NDX) rose 0.2 percent to 4,494. Most followed shares included Nike, Amazon, Krispy Kreme, Lululemon, Men’s Wearhouse, Amgen, HealthSouth, Box, eBay, Hess, and JetBlue Airways.