Canadian shares fell for a sixth session as a slide in commodity prices nudged down energy producers and miners and amid downbeat earnings.
The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index (TSE:OSPTX) slipped 0.5 percent to 14,198.90. Two shares declined for every issue that advanced as half of the ten share groups were in the negative territory.
The energy sector, the main index's second most heavily weighted group, fell 1.9 percent as U.S. oil prices wandered into a bear market territory.
Suncor Energy (TSE:SU), Canada's largest oil sands producer, dipped 1.4 percent to C$33.18. Canadian Natural Resources Limited (TSE:CNQ), Canada’s second-largest energy producer, gave up 0.3 percent to C$30.74.
Encana (TSE:ECA) sank 9.8 percent to $10.14. Canada’s largest natural gas producer reported a $1.6 billion loss for the second quarter, hit by a $1.3 billion impairment charge and slumping oil and gas prices.
Epsilon Energy (TSE:EPS) skidded 0.2 percent to C$3.23 after swinging to a loss of C$1.6 million in the latest quarter from a profit of C$2.7 million a year earlier.
September West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.6 percent to $48.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices were trading more than 5 percent lower for the week.
The materials sub-index, which includes mining shares, slipped 1.4 percent as gold lost more than 1 percent today. Goldcorp (TSE:G), Canada’s largest gold miner by market value, lost 1.7 percent to C$16.38. Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX), the second-largest, edged down 1.6 percent to C$9.06.
U.S. gold futures for August delivery were down $11.70 an ounce at $1,082.40.
Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, edged down 0.1 percent. Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY), which has the heaviest weighting in the index, tumbled 0.8 percent to C$74.96. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD), the second-largest bank by market value, lost 0.2 percent to C$52.08.
TransForce (TSE:TFI) added 1 percent to C$24.50 after the transportation company reported second-quarter earnings of C$64.1 million, or C$0.62 per share, up 42 percent from C$37.3 million, or C$0.37 per share, a year earlier.
Celestica (TSE:CLS) jumped 9.4 percent to C$16.69. The Canadian electronics manufacturer reported earnings fell 40 percent to $24.2 million in the second quarter from $40.9 during the same period a year earlier. Revenue came in on the higher end of its own guidance range at $1.42 billion.
The junior S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (CVE:OSPVX) slipped 0.9 percent to 592.93 at 12:37 p.m. in Toronto.
In currency, the loonie plunged as much as 0.5 percent to C$1.3103 against its U.S. counterpart, the lowest on an intraday basis since September 2004. It fell after a private gauge of Chinese manufacturing dropped to the lowest in 15 months, signaling decreased commodities demand.
In the U.S. market, shares extended declines to a fourth straight session, weighed by weak quarterly earnings that largely reflect a slowing growth in global economy. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) skidded 0.5 percent to 2,092.39. The 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) slipped 0.5 percent to 17,643.76, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) lost 0.2 percent to 5,135.47. Most followed shares included Anthem, Cigna, Amazon, Starbucks, Visa, Xerox, Biogen, Newmont Mining, TripAdvisor, American Airlines, AT&T, and AbbVie.