TSX Ends Sharply Lower On Growth Concerns

(RTTNews) - Falling crude oil prices and a sell-off in global markets amid rising concerns about global economic growth sent share prices crashing in the Canadian stock market on Tuesday.

Energy, financial, industrials and consumer discretionary stocks declined sharply. Shares from materials, telecommunications and consumer staples sections too ended mostly lower.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended down 194.01 points, or 1.29%, at 14,877.00, after falling to a low of 14,810.56 intraday. On Monday, the index ended down 84.49 points, or 0.56%, at 15,071.01.

The Capped Financial Index shed 1.38%. Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO), Toronto-Domion Bank (TD.TO), Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO), Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) and National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) lost 1.2 to 2%.

Manulife Financial Corporation (MFC.TO) declined by 2.1%, Sun Life Financial Inc. (SLF.TO) ended 1.4% down and Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO) edged down marginally.

The Capped Energy Index shed nearly 3%. Encana Corporation (ECA.TO) plunged 6.8%, Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) declined 6.2% and Husky Energy (HSE.TO) ended 5.5% down. Imperial Oil (IMO.TO) and Vermilion Energy Inc. (VET.TO) ended lower by 4.4% and 4.1%, respectively, while Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO), Tourmaline Oil Corp. (TOU.TO) and ARC Resources (ARX.TO) lost 2 to 2.5%.

Among materials stocks, First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) plunged 7%, CCL Industries (CCL.B.TO) ended 4.4% down, Teck Resources (TECK.B.TO) declined 3.7% and Methanex Corporation (MX.TO) closed down by 2.6%. Nutrien (NTR.TO) lost about 1.2%.

Franco-Nevada Corporation (FNV.TO) gained 2.5%, Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) advanced by 1.35% and Goldcorp Inc. (G.TO) added 1.2%.

Among consumer discretionary stocks, BRP Inc. (DOO.TO) plunged 6.7% and Canada Goose Holdings Inc. (GOOS.TO) declined by about 5%. Magna International (MG.TO), Restaurant Brands International Inc. (QSR.TO), Dollarama (DOL.TO), Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC.A.TO), The Stars Group Inc. (TSGI.TO), Great Canadian Gaming Corporation (GC.TO) lost 1 to 3%.

Among stocks from the industrial sector, Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) ended more than 4% down, Canadian Pacific Railway (CP.TO) lost about 4.5% and Finning International Inc. (FTT.TO) ended lower by 1.6%. Bombardier Inc. (BBD.B.TO) ended nearly 3% up, bouncing back after a sharp plunge in the previous session.

Among healthcare stocks, Bausch Health Companies Inc. (BHC.TO), Canopy Growth Corporation (WEED.TO), Aphria Inc. (APHA.TO) and Extendicare Inc. (EXE.TO) lost 1 to 2.2%. Knight Therapeutics Inc. (GUD.TO) ended more than 1.5% up.

Information technology stocks CGI Group Inc. (GIB.A.TO), Shopify Inc. (SHOP.TO), Open Text Corporation (OTEX.TO) and BlackBerry (BB.TO) gained 1 to 2%. Constellation Software (CSU.TO) ended weak.

U.S. stocks plunged on Tuesday and the major averages ended sharply lower despite coming off their worst levels of the day. The Dow ended 2.2% down, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 declined by 1.7% and 1.8%, respectively. Worries about global economy and a negative reaction to the latest batch of earnings news from top companies, including Target (TGT) triggered the sell-off in the market.

In U.S. economic news, data from the Commerce Department said housing starts jumped by 1.5% to an annual rate of 1.228 million in October after plunging by 5.5% to a revised rate of 1.210 million in September. Economists had expected housing starts to climb to a rate of 1.225 million from the 1.201 million originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, the report said building permits fell by 0.6% to an annual rate of 1.263 million in October after surging up by 1.7% to an upwardly revised 1.270 million in September. Building permits had been expected to increase to 1.267 million from the 1.241 million originally reported for the previous month. Markets in Europe and Asia ended in negative territory on growth concerns. The mood was quite cautious with traders looking ahead to the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Argentina later this month.

Traders were also following the latest Brexit developments. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney welcomed the draft Brexit deal and the transition arrangement that the British Prime Minister Theresa May struck with the European Union last week, but warned that the risks of a "no-deal, no-transition" scenario remained very high.

In commodities, crude oil futures for January ended down $3.77, or 6.6%, at $53.43 a barrel, the lowest settlement price in about 13 months.

Gold futures for December ended down $4.10, or 0.3%, at $1,221.20 an ounce, snapping a four-day winning streak.

Silver futures for December ended down $0.134, at $14.269 an ounce, while Copper futures for December declined by $0.0325 to $2.7665 per pound.