(Reuters) - Canada's main stock index dropped on Thursday, as energy stocks tracked a fall in oil prices on fears of the coronavirus outbreak in China hitting fuel demand.
At 9:46 a.m. ET (14:46 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was down 57.65 points, or 0.33%, at 17,542.21.
The energy sector dropped 2.4% as U.S. crude prices were down 3% a barrel, while Brent crude lost 2.7%. [O/R]
The financials sector slipped 0.3% while the industrials sector fell 0.5%.
On the TSX, 88 issues were higher, while 141 issues declined for a 1.60-to-1 ratio to the downside, with 22.43 million shares traded.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Maple Leaf Foods Inc, which jumped 4% after RBC upgraded the processed food company's shares to "outperform", and Alamos Gold, which rose 3%.
Ballard Power Systems Inc fell 13%, the most on the TSX. The second-biggest decliner was Alacer Gold Corp, down 6.6% after it provided its 2020 forecast.
The most heavily traded shares by volume were Bombardier , Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure Ltd and Encana Corp.
The TSX posted 18 new 52-week highs and two new lows.
There were 58 new 52-week highs and five new lows, with total volume of 38.91 million shares, across Canadian issues.