Canadian stocks ended sharply lower Wednesday, on a slew of soft macroeconomic data out of the U.S. and Europe, amid declining commodity prices. Investors sentiments dipped after some weak data out of Europe with the eurozone economy contracting for a sixth straight quarter, as Germany missed expectations and France slipped into recession.
As well, Canada's manufacturing sales edged down in March, recording a third decline in four months.
All major sub-indices of the TSX ended in the red.
Industrial production in the U.S. declined in April, with a drop in manufacturing output, suggesting a sluggishness in the economy in terms of resource use. Meanwhile, wholesale inflation remained in check in April, even as producer prices fell during the month, spurred lower by a continued slide in energy prices.
Manufacturing activity in New York State unexpectedly shrunk in May, a key regional factory survey showed Wednesday. This was the first time since January that the closely-watched measure had shown contraction.
The euro area economy remained in recession in the first three months of 2013 with the gross domestic product contracting for a sixth consecutive quarter, a preliminary Eurostat estimate showed Wednesday. While Germany's economic performance was weaker than forecast by economists, France slipped into recession in the first quarter.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed Wednesday at 12,473.65, down 103.40 points or 0.82 percent. The index touched an intraday high of 12,575.01 and a low of 12,439.13.
The Global Gold Index plummeted 4.59 percent, with gold futures for June delivery plunging $28.30 or 2.0 percent to close at $1,396.20 an ounce Wednesday on the Nymex.
The Capped Materials Index shed 2.65 percent, with Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc.(POT.TO) adding 0.66 percent.
Among gold stocks, Yamana Gold Inc. (YRI.TO) plunged 5.21 percent, while Goldcorp Inc. (G.TO) plummeted 5.10 percent. Eldorado Gold Corp. (ELD.TO) dived 4.76 percent, while Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX.TO) plunged 5.37 percent. IAMGOLD Corp. (IMG.TO) shed 5.18 percent, while Kinross Gold Corporation (K.TO) slipped 1.29 percent.
The Diversified Metals & Mining Index declined 0.73 percent, with First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (FM.TO) up 0.37 percent, Lundin Mining Corp. (LUN.TO) up 0.25 percent, Teck Resources (TCK.B.TO) down 0.07 percent, and Osisko Mining Corp. (OSK.TO) plunging 7.23 percent.
Latest data from the EIA revealed that US crude oil inventories eased 0.60 million barrels, while gasoline stocks were up 2.60 million barrels in the weekended may 10. Analysts expect crude oil inventories to climb 450,000 barrels and gasoline stocks to shed 1.1 million barrels last week.
Meanwhile, the European Commission is investigating a group of oil companies over allegations of price-fixing. The commission said a series of surprise inspections were carried out on oil companies, including BP, Shell and Statoil.
The Energy Index shed 0.62 percent, with U.S. crude oil futures for June delivery gaining $0.09 or 0.1 percent to close at $94.30 a barrel Wednesday on the Nymex.
Among energy stocks, Suncor Energy Inc. (SU.TO) slipped 0.62 percent, while Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ.TO) shed 0.60 percent. Canadian Oil Sands Limited (COS.TO) edged down 1.18 percent, while RMP Energy Inc. (RMP.TO) dropped 1.07 percent.
The Financial Index dropped 0.60 percent, as Manulife Financial Corp. (MFC.TO) slid 1.50 percent, Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) edged down 0.21 percent, TD Bank Group (TD.TO) dropped 0.52 percent, and Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) lost 0.96 percent. Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) dropped 0.94 percent.
The Information Technology Index shed 0.30 percent, with BlackBerry (BB.TO) down 1.80 percent.
The Capped Industrials Index dropped 0.42 percent, with Bombardier Inc. (BBD.A.TO, BBD.B.TO) ending flat at $4.55 and Air Canada (AC.A.TO) gaining 0.46 percent.
Egypt focused gold miner Centamin plc (CEE.TO) jumped 7.27 percent after reporting higher first-quarter profit, while indicating on track in 2013 for a further increase in annual production of over 20 percent from 2012. The miner expects to meet full year production guidance of 320,000 ounces at US$700 per ounce cash operating cost.
Innergex Renewable Energy (INE.TO) eased 0.10 percent after slipping into the red in first-quarter, reporting net loss of C$178,000 or C$0.01 a share, compared with net profit of C$7.8 million or C$0.10 a share last year. Analysts estimated a loss of C$0.07 a share for the quarter.
Home furnishings retailer Leon's Furniture (LNF.TO) edged up 0.60 percent after reporting a lower first quarter profit of C$5.4 million C$0.07 per share compared to C$8.6 million or C$0.12 per share in the year ago period.
In economic news, Statistics Canada said manufacturing sales edged down 0.3 percent to $49.5 billion in March, recording their its the third decline in four months. The decline largely reflects lower sales in the petroleum and coal product, and chemical manufacturing industries. Excluding these industries, sales rose 0.3 percent. Overall, sales declined in 10 of 21 industries, representing approximately one-third of Canadian manufacturing.
In economic news from the U.S., the Labor Department said producer prices dropped 0.7 percent in April, mainly due to a slide in energy prices. Core prices, which exclude the volatile food and energy sector, edged up by a modest 0.1 percent. Economists had expected the headline number to drop by 0.7 percent. Core prices were projected to rise by 0.2 percent.
Separately, the New York Federal Reserve said its Empire State Manufacturing Index came in at a negative 1.4 for May. This was down from a positive 3.1 in the previous month. Economists had expected the index to rise to a reading of positive 3.75.
U.S. homebuilder confidence rose more than expected in May, as attractive interest rates and a relatively low supply of existing homes has encouraged people to build new dwellings. Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes improved three points to a 44 reading on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) for May. Analysts anticipated a more modest improvement to a reading of 43 from April's downwardly revised 41.
Elsewhere, the euro area economy remained in recession in the first three months of 2013 with gross domestic product contracting for a sixth consecutive quarter, preliminary estimates from Eurostat revealed Wednesday.
The eurozone economy contracted more than expected with gross domestic product dropping 0.2 percent quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter, faster than the expected 0.1 percent contraction. This followed a 0.6 percent decline in the fourth quarter of 2012.
The German economy narrowly escaped recession in the first quarter of 2013, but the growth was weaker than forecast. Germany's gross domestic product grew 0.1 percent quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter, after adjustment for price, seasonal and calendar variations. This was weaker than the 0.3 percent growth forecast by economists.
France slipped to recession after its gross domestic product dipped more than expected in the first quarter, preliminary data from the French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies showed Thursday. France's GDP dropped to a seasonally adjusted minus 0.2 percent from minus 0.2 percent in the previous quarter which was revised up from minus 0.3 percent. Analysts expected the French GDP to drop minus 0.1 percent for the first quarter.
Separately, the Bank of England lifted its estimate for economic growth and forecast inflation to return to its 2 percent target earlier than projected. The BoE forecast economic growth to accelerate to 0.5 percent in the second quarter from 0.3 percent in first quarter of 2013.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.