The Canadian market experienced significant declines on Thursday, with stocks across various sectors tumbling due to heavy selling driven by concerns over global economic growth following weak data from the U.S., Europe, and China.
Key sectors such as energy, materials, technology, industrials, and financials witnessed notable losses.
The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 478.11 points or 2.07%, settling at 22,632.70, with just over an hour remaining before the market closed.
In the energy sector, the Energy Capped Index fell by 3.61%. Parex Resources (PXT.TO) plunged 11.5%, and Vermilion Energy (VET.TO) declined by 7.4%. Other significant decliners included Paramount Resources (POU.TO), Veren (VRN.TO), Baytex Energy (BTE.TO), Kelto Exploration (KEL.TO), and Tamarack Valley Energy (TVE.TO), all dropping between 4% and 5.7%.
Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) saw a nearly 6% decrease despite reporting quarterly net earnings of $1,000 million, up from $866 million the previous year.
Canadian Natural Resources Inc. (CNQ.TO) declined 2%, even after reporting adjusted net earnings of $1,892 million for the quarter ending June 30, 2023, an increase from $1,256 million the year prior.
Other major losers in the energy sector included Arc Resources (ARX.TO), Tourmaline Oil Corp (TOU.TO), Imperial Oil (IMO.TO), Suncor Energy (SU.TO), MEG Energy (MEG.TO), and Nuvista Energy (NVA.TO).
Conversely, TC Energy Corp (TRP.TO) gained 1.7% after announcing a net income of $1.0 billion, or $0.93 per common share, for the second quarter of 2024, significantly up from $0.3 billion, or $0.24 per common share, in the second quarter of 2023.
In the materials sector, First Majestic Silver Corp (AG.TO) plummeted 16.2%, while SSR Mining (SSRM.TO) fell 11.4%. Ivanhoe Mines (IVN.TO) decreased by 9%, and First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) declined 7.1%. Other notable losers included Hudbay Minerals (HBM.TO), Silvercrest Metals (SIL.TO), Capstone Mining Corp (CS.TO), Lundin Mining (LUN.TO), Methanex Corp (MX.TO), Canfor Corp (CFP.TO), and Pan American Silver Corp (PAAS.TO), all dropping between 4% and 6%.
In the technology sector, Kinaxis Inc (KXS.TO) saw the most significant decline, falling by 8.5%. Other drops included Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO), Constellation Software (CSU.TO), Sylogist (SYZ.TO), Bitfarms (BITF.TO), BlackBerry (BB.TO), Docebo Inc (DCBO.TO), Celestica Inc (CLS.TO), and Coveo Solutions (CVO.TO), with losses ranging from 3.3% to 5%.
Financial stocks such as Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO), Manulife Financial (MFC.TO), Laurentian Bank (LB.TO), goeasy (GSY.TO), Sun Life Financial (SLF.TO), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO), Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO), and Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) declined between 1.5% and 3.2%.
Thomson Reuters Corporation (TRI.TO) reported an operating profit of $415 million for the second quarter, down from $825 million a year ago, resulting in the stock falling by 1.7%.
BCE Inc. (BCE.TO) rose 1.3% after announcing net earnings of $604 million in the second quarter, a 52.1% increase compared to the previous year.
Gildan Activewear Ltd. (GIL.TO) reported adjusted net earnings of $124.7 million for the second quarter, up from $112.3 million the previous year, leading to a 0.6% increase in its stock.
Colliers International Group Inc. (CIGI.TO) gained 2.5% after reporting operating earnings of $114.7 million for the second quarter, up from $75.3 million the previous year.
On the economic front, the S&P Global Canada Manufacturing PMI fell to 47.8 in July 2024 from 49.3 in June, marking the sharpest contraction in operating conditions since December and extending the current decline to 15 months.
