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Sluggish Start for TSX

Equities in Canada’s largest market opened lower on Thursday, weighed by weakness in commodity-linked stocks and as concerns about a stunted global economic recovery dented demand for world equities.

The TSX Composite withered 104.7 points, to begin Thursday at 20,589.09

The Canadian dollar dipped 0.04 cents to 78.86 cents U.S.

National Bank of Canada resumes coverage on Aya Gold & Silver with an outperform rating, and a price target of $13.25. Aya shares fell 21 cents, or 2.2%, to $9.31.

National Bank of Canada ups the price target on Canadian National Railway to $144 from $139. CN shares added 13 cents to $147.92.

National Bank of Canada initiates coverage on Torex Gold Resources with a sector perform rating and a price target of $24.00. Torex shares collapsed 77 cents, or 5.6%, to $13.03.

On thing macroeconomic Statistics Canada said foreign investors acquired $14.2 billion of Canadian securities in July, led by purchases of government debt securities. At the same time, Canadian investors reduced their holdings of foreign securities by $4.7 billion.

StatsCan also said wholesale trade fell for the second consecutive month, down 2.1% in July. This decline was due to a 12.4% decrease in sales of building materials and supplies.

Meanwhile, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said housing starts were 283,971 units in August 2021, down from 286,076 units in July 2021.

Elsewhere, Alberta introduced a vaccine passport system on Wednesday to combat a fourth wave of COVID-19 that is close to overwhelming the healthcare system, as Premier Jason Kenney apologized for mishandling the pandemic.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange subtracted 10.38 points to 894.32.

All but one of the 12 TSX began the session lower, with gold sliding 4%, materials skidding 3.1%, and energy off 1%.

Only industrials held out against the negative tide, eking up0.1%.

ON WALLSTREET

The S&P 500 slipped Thursday despite better-than-expected August retail sales, as the latest weekly jobless claims report pointed to a mixed economic picture.

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The Dow Jones Industrials gave back 147.16 points to 34,667.23

The S&P 500 dumped 23.51 points to 4,457.55.

The NASDAQ Composite slumped 74.42 points to 15,087.11.

Freeport-McMoRan doffed 7% and Newmont slouched roughly 4%, to weigh down the S&P the most.

On the upside, Moderna shares rose after the company released more data on breakthrough COVID cases that supports the push for the wide use of vaccine booster shots.

August retail sales surprised the market and rose 0.7% from the month prior, the Census Bureau reported Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected a 0.8% month-over-month decline.

Meanwhile, the latest unemployment insurance weekly data showed 332,000 first-time jobless claims last week. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect a total of 320,000 initial claims.

History is also not on the market’s side as September tends to be a typically negative month for stocks. The S&P 500 has fallen 0.6% during the month on average since 1945, according to data from CFRA.

Prices for 10-Year Treasurys subsided, raising yields to 1.33% from Wednesday’s 1.30%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices docked 99 cents to $71.62 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices slipped $43.70 to $1,791.10 U.S. an ounce.