The Canadian market closed notably lower on Thursday as stocks tumbled on sustained selling pressure due to weak commodity prices and rising concerns about U.S. President-elect Donald Trumps tariff threats.
The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a loss of 246.99 points or 0.96% at 25,410.71, a more than two week low.
Materials and energy stocks were the major losers. The Materials Capped Index fell 2.46%, while the Energy Capped Index lost 1.74%.
Imperial Oil (IMO.TO) tumbled 6.7%. Pan American Silver Corp (PAAS.TO), Endeavour Mining (EDV.TO), Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM.TO), Alamos Gold (AGI.TO), Lundin Gold (LUG.TO) and North West Company (NWC.TO) closed lower by 3 to 5%.
Onex Corporation (ONEX.TO), Cameco Corporation (CCO.TO), Intact Financial Corporation (IFC.TO), Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO), Methanex Corporation (MX.TO) and Suncor Energy (SU.TO) lost 2 to 2.8%.
Empire Company (EMP.A.TO) climbed about 5.3% after the company reported net earnings of $173.4 million ($0.73 per share) for the second quarter of fiscal 2025, compared to $181.1 million ($0.72 per share) in the second quarter of financial year 2024. For the quarter, the Company recorded adjusted net earnings of $173.4 million ($0.73 per share) compared to $178.3 million ($0.71 per share) last year.
Transcontinental Inc. (TCL.B.TO) rallied 4.4%. Bausch + Lomb Corporation (BLCO.TO), Bombardier Inc (BBD.B.TO), Hut 8 Corp (HUT.TO), Transcontinental (TCL.A.TO), Senvest Capital (SEC.TO), Descartes Systems Group (DSG.TO), Celestica Inc (CLS.TO), Great-West Lifeco (GWO.TO) and Loblaw Companies (L.TO) gained 1 to 3.5%.
Transat A.T. Inc. (TRZ.TO) gained 4.7%. The company reported a net income of $41.2 million or $1.05 per share for the quarter ended October 31, 2024, compared to $3.2 million or $0.08 per share in the year-ago quarter.
In economic news, data from Statistics Canada said the total value of building permits in Canada fell 3.1% month-over-month to $12.61 billion in October, retreating from an 11.5% increase in the previous month.