Canadian shares fell on Thursday, led by energy producers and miners. The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index (TSE:OSPTX) fell 1.1% at 13,163.19 at 12:13 p.m. in Toronto.
Three shares declined for every issue that advanced as nine out of ten share groups were in positive territory.
Amaya (TSE:AYA) jumped 14% to $27.82 after the online gambling company received approval to operate its PokerStars and Full Tilt poker brands in New Jersey.
The materials sub-index, which includes mining shares, was the largest laggard with a 2.4% drop even as gold recovered from two-week lows.
Goldcorp (TSE:G), Canada’s largest gold miner by market value, slipped 1.5% to C$16.48. Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX), Canada’s second-largest gold miner, retreated 1.9% to C$8.33.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery were up $1.30 an ounce at $1,116.50. Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, slipped 0.6%. Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY), which has the heaviest weighting in the index, fell 0.7% to C$73.30. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD), the second-largest bank by market value, dropped 0.3% to C$52.47.
The energy sector, the main index's second most heavily weighted group, dropped 0.4% as oil prices were mixed on Thursday.
Suncor Energy (TSE:SU), Canada's largest oil sands producer, rose 0.3% to C$35.81. Enbridge (TSE:ENB), Canada's largest pipeline company, slid 0.1% to C$49.51.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 26 cents at $45.35. Brent crude the global benchmark for oil, was down 14 cents at $48.23 a barrel.