Canadian shares halted a six-session rally as a slump in oil prices nudged down commodities producers. The benchmark Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index (TSE:OSPTX) fell 0.8 percent to 14,384.98 at 12:58 p.m. in Toronto. Seven out of ten share groups were in the negative territory.
Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, retreated 0.7 percent. Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY), which has the heaviest weighting in the index, sank 0.7 percent to C$76.67. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD), the second-largest bank by market value, declined 0.7 percent to C$52.85.
TMX Group (TSE:X) tumbled 4.4 percent to C$47.74 even as the operator of the Toronto Stock Exchange swung to a profit in the second quarter from a year-ago loss.
Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) rose 0.3 percent to C$23.36 even as Canada's largest insurer reported net earnings C$0.29 per share in the second quarter, down from C$0.49 per share a year earlier.
Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) gained 4.4 percent to C$44.70. Canada’s third-largest insurer beat analyst expectations, reporting a second-quarter “underlying” profit of C$1 per share.
The energy sector, the main index's second most heavily weighted group, was little changed as oil fell to the lowest level since March in New York. Suncor Energy (TSE:SU), Canada's largest oil sands producer, lost 0.5 percent to C$37.12. Enbridge (TSE:ENB), Canada's largest pipeline company, decreased 0.2 percent to C$56.80.
Canadian Natural Resources Limited (TSE:CNQ) fluctuated between gains and losses. Canada’s second-largest energy producer swung to a loss of C$0.37 per share, in the second quarter.
Light, sweet crude for September delivery recently fell 1.5 percent to $44.47 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The materials sub-index, which includes mining shares, gained 1.8 percent as bullion inched higher. Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX) jumped 7.6 percent to C$9.33 even as Canada’s second-largest gold miner reported a second-quarter loss, and cut its quarterly dividend amid slumping gold prices.
Agrium (TSE:AGU) slid 2.4 percent even as the Canadian fertilizer maker reported higher earnings in the second quarter and said it has already exceeded its 2017 operational target of $350 million of one-time savings.
U.S. gold for December delivery also rose 0.2 percent to $1,088.10 an ounce.
Linamar (TSE:LNR) sank 6.6 percent even as the auto maker posted a 33 percent jump in second-quarter earnings.
BCE (TSE:BCE) rose 0.3 percent to C$54.32. Canada’s second-largest wireless carrier, reported net earnings rose about 25 percent in the second quarter from the same period a year earlier.
SNC-Lavalin (TSE:SNC) tanked 8 percent to C$40.24 the engineering and construction company reported a dip in net earnings in the second quarter.
The junior S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (CVE:OSPVX) retreated 0.9 percent to 579.36 at 12:43 p.m. in Toronto.
In the U.S. market, shares turned lower in early trade, succumbing to weakness in the consumer and utilities sectors a day ahead of a closely watched jobs report. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) sank 0.9 percent to 2,080.19 at 12:09 p.m. in New York. The 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) fell 0.8 percent to 17,403.92, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) tumbled 1.8 percent to 5,046.45.
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