Baystreet.ca - Equities in Canada’s largest centre were not spared voters’ wrath Wednesday, with indices reporting heavy losses. The S&P/TSX Composite Index plummeted 367.07 points, or 1.7%, to close Wednesday to 21,897.98.The Canadian dollar dipped 0.36 cents at 72.91 cents U.S.
In corporate news, shares of National Bank of Canada (TSX:NA) gained $2.83, or 2.5%, to $115.84 after the lender reported a rise in second-quarter net profit, helped by strong performance in its wealth management and financial markets units. The heavyweight financials sector fell to a more than three-week low as shares of Bank of Montreal (TSX:BMO) slipped $11.22, or 8.6%, to $119.88.Elsewhere, consumer staples were shaken up somewhat, as Alimentation Couche-Tard faltered $2.21, or 2.7%, to $78.14, while Saputo (TSX:SAP) dipped 48 cents, or 1.8%, to $26.98.
Utilities also had a tough time of it, with Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (TSX:BIP_u) sank $2.09, or 5.2%, to $38.58, while Brookfield Renewable units dished off $1.47, or 3.9%, to $36.36.
ON BAYSTREET The TSX Venture Exchange lost 1.56 points to finish off Wednesday at 609.47. All 12 subgroups were negative, with financials down 2.2%, while energy and utilities each let go of 2.1%.
ON WALLSTREET Stocks slid Wednesday, as rocky trading in artificial intelligence darling Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) threatened one of the last few bright spots for traders with Treasury yields ascending.The Dow Jones Industrial Average unloaded 411.32 points, or 1.1%, to end Wednesday’s session at 38,441.54 The S&P 500 slid 39.07 points to 5,266.97.The NASDAQ swooned 99.3 points to 16,920.58. Nvidia traded $9.24 higher to $1,148.25, reversing an early loss of 2.6%. The megacap tech name has risen every trading session since its blockbuster earnings report last week, with a cumulative post-earnings surge of nearly 20%.
All 11 sectors that comprise the broad S&P 500 retreated, underscoring the breadth of market weakness. More than 400 stocks in the index were lower on the day.More than two-thirds of the 30 stocks in the Dow fell. Insurance provider UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH) led the blue-chip average lower with a slide of more than 4% following management commentary around its Medicaid business. Other stocks tied to the federal health insurance program dropped, including Molina Healthcare, Humana (NYSE:HUM) and Elevance Health. Prices for the 10-year Treasury collapsed, raising yields to 4.74% from Tuesday’s 4.54%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. Oil prices ditched 82 cents to $79.01 U.S. a barrel. Gold prices fell $20.20 to $2,336.30.