By Shashwat Chauhan
(Reuters) -Canada’s main stock index slipped on Thursday, dragged down by losses in materials and energy stocks, as fears of a global banking meltdown continued to worry investors.
By 10:13 a.m. ET (1413 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was down 174.83 points, or 0.9%, at 19,204.01.
Energy stocks were among the top decliners, with the index losing 1.9% as oil prices fell more than 1%.
“The thing that’s affected Canadian markets is the move lower in energy stocks,” said Greg Taylor, portfolio manager at Purpose Investments.
“Energy stock had been a hiding spot in the last number of years, but it seemed like the selling pressure across the board caught up with them as well.”
Fortuna Silver Mines was the biggest percentage loser on TSX, shedding 5.2% after reporting a loss in the fourth quarter. That dragged the broader materials sector down 1.2%.
Canada’s technology sector also lost ground, slipping 0.9%, mirroring declines in the tech-heavy Nasdaq on Wall Street. [.N]
Financials, the largest sector by weight on the Canadian index, extended losses, down 1.1%.
Canadian stocks have lost nearly all of their yearly gains in the last few days, after the collapse of U.S. lenders Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank sparked contagion concerns in global financial stocks.
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank raised interest rates by 50 basis points as promised, ignoring the financial market chaos and calls by investors to dial back policy tightening at least until sentiment stabilises.
In domestic data, Canadian wholesale trade increased by 2.4% in January from December.
Shares of Transcontinental Inc rose 4.9% after CIBC upgraded the packaging company to “outperformer” from “neutral”.
(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
