Daily Wrap-Up: TSX slumps as all sector groups weaken

TSX slumps as all sector groups weaken... Canadian wages have stalled... Federal government will get $4 billion dividend from CMHC...

Daily Wrap-Up: TSX slumps as all sector groups weaken
Steve Randall
TSX slumps as all sector groups weaken
Thursday’s session brought widespread decline for the main TSX index, led by an almost-2 per cent drop for materials. IT, consumer discretionary, utilities and telecoms all lost more than 1 per cent.

Wall Street also declined with tech stocks dragging the Nasdaq down 1.44 per cent but all three major indexes suffered heavy losses. US GDP figures showed a 1.4 per cent annual growth for May, better than the 1.2 per cent that was forecast.

European indexes also closed lower while most Asian bourses had gained earlier in the day.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 142.2 (0.93 per cent)
The Dow Jones closed down 167.6 (0.78 per cent)
Oil is trending (Brent $47.35, WTI $44.85 at 4.55pm)
Gold is trending lower (1245.30 at 4.55pm)
The loonie is valued at U$0.7691

Canadian wages have stalled
There was little change in non-farm payroll earnings in April, the latest month reported by Statistics Canada.

The data released Thursday showed averaged weekly wages of $971 which were up 2 per cent from a year earlier, but most of that increase was in the last two months of 2016.

Wages were up in 6 of the 10 industrial sectors and in 7 provinces, led by Manitoba. There was little change for PEI, New Brunswick and Alberta.

Federal government will get $4 billion dividend from CMHC
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation will give a special dividend of $4 billion to the federal government.

The cash is excess capital which will be returned to Ottawa over the next two years. It is a change from the agency’s previous 61 years of operation which saw it hold on to profits.

"CMHC's special $4 billion dividend is a sign of how well the Crown corporation is managing its mortgage loan insurance and securitization businesses. By sending excess funds to the government, CMHC is abiding by good governance principles," the finance minister Bill Morneau said in a statement.

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