General Malaise Hits Stocks Throughout North America

Stocks in Toronto were bruised yet again Thursday, hit hard by losses in the cannabis sector, well as in mining and gold stocks.

The TSX was in the red 81.7 points to conclude Thursday at 20,417.61.

The Canadian dollar plummeted 0.65 cents to 74.11 cents U.S.

Health-care took the brunt of investor indifference, with Canopy Growth sliding 23 cents, or 14.2%, to $1.39, while Tilray lost 43 cents, or 11.7%, to $3.26.

In materials, Capstone mining doffed 61 cents, or 9.6%, to $5.75, while First Quantum dropped $2.66, or 7.9%, to $30.79.

Gold also suffered, as Torex Gold was pounded $4.11, 17% to $20.04, while Lundin Gold lost $1.62, or 8.5%, to $17.42.

In consumer staples, Maple Leaf ignored the negative tide and climbed $2.40, or 9.6%, to $27.38, while Primo Water jumped 55 cents, or 3%, to $19.22.

Consumer discretionary stocks also helped out, with Linamar took on $2.63, or 4.1%, to $67.92, while Pet Valu acquired 45 cents, or 1.3%, to $34.85.

In real-estate issues, First Service jumped $5.59, or 2.9%, to $199.57 while CT REIT gained 36 cents or 2.3%, to $15.81.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange slipped 7.08 points or 1.1%, to 614.69.

The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly divided between losers and gainers, as materials doffed 3.1%, gold was off 2.4%, and health-care fell 2.1%.

The half-dozen gainers were led by consumer staples, up 0.4%, while communications and utilities were each up 0.3%.

ON WALLSTREET

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 fell Thursday as Disney shares were under pressure and concerns around regional banks persisted.

The 30-stock index plummeted 221.82 points to 33,309.51, following a lower-than-expected wholesale inflation report and earnings from Disney

The S&P 500 index lost 7.02 points to 4,130.62.

The tech-heavy NASDAQ recovered 22.06 points, off its highs of the day, to 12,328.51.

Disney shares fell more than 8% the day after the media giant released its fiscal second-quarter results. While higher prices helped Disney’s streaming division narrow its losses, it dealt a harsh blow to subscriber growth. The company also announced it would take on impairment charges of $1.5 billion to $1.8 billion as it removes more content from its streaming platforms.

Investor worry over regional banks once again flared up. PacWest Bancorp, the latest troubled bank in focus, said Thursday in a regulatory filing that deposits fell 9.5% during the week of May 5. PacWest shares dropped 22% Thursday, and the bank said it had access to $15 billion in immediate liquidity, if needed.

The producer price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge that measures wholesale prices, increased just 0.2% in April.

Economists polled by Dow Jones estimated PPI advanced 0.3% last month. The PPI data follows the consumer price index report from Wednesday, which showed inflation rose 4.9% year-over-year, below expectations.

Initial jobless claims grew by 22,000 for the week ending May 6 to 264,000, the U.S. Department of Labor said on Thursday. The latest jobless data was the highest reading since Oct. 30, 2021.

Prices for the 10-year Treasury moved forward, lowering yields to 3.38% from Wednesday’s 3.44%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices $1.10 to $71.46 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices sank $17.10 to $2,020.00 U.S. an ounce.

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