The sliding price of oil had a ripple effect on the TSX’s heavyweight energy sector today.
Falling energy stocks were among the catalysts behind an 11-point dip on Canada’s stock exchange.
Another factor in the TSX edging lower was Bombardier cutting 5,000 jobs over the next year-and-a-half as the Montreal-based plane and train maker looks to rein in debt.
The news sparked a sharp sell-off of Bombardier shares. Bombardier was the most active company on the index as its stock tumbled 24.4 percent.
Helping to keep the financials in the green was a 4.1 percent surge in Manulife shares after Canada’s biggest insurer delivered Q3 earnings that beat analysts’ expectations.
Oil lost another 98 cents today, falling to $60.69 US a barrel as it enters bear market territory. According to CNBC, U.S. crude fell more than 20 percent from its four-year high last month due to a growing global supply and waning demand.
In New York, the Dow managed to inch up 10 points in late day trading after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced that it is keeping interest rates unchanged.
However, in a statement, the Fed said economic activity has been “rising at a strong rate,” hinting towards another rate hike in December.
Results were mixed on Wall Street with industrial giant Caterpillar dropping 2.7 percent and Apple edging below the flat line.
The Nasdaq also retreated, down 39 points as tech stocks lagged. Alphabet, Amazon, Facebook, Netflix, all retreated into the red on Thursday.
Gold and the Canadian dollar lost value today. The loonie weakened by 21/100ths of a cent to $0.7604 US while gold was off by $4.20 to $1,224 an ounce.
