Sharp drop in price of crude oil drags down Toronto Stock Exchange

A sharp drop in the price of oil dragged the Toronto Stock Exchange to a lower close on Thursday after data out of the U.S. showed that crude stockpiles didn’t fall as much as investors had expected.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index lost 96.60 points to 14,134.46, led by gold stocks, which declined 2.82 per cent, while energy companies slipped 1.51 per cent.

The health-care sector was one of the few bright spots on the TSX, climbing 1.62 per cent.

Meanwhile, the oil-sensitive loonie slipped 0.26 of a U.S. cent to 76.91 cents US.

“It’s definitely been quite volatile,’’ said Jayson Moss, a research analyst at Franklin Bissett Investment Management.

“There still is a lot of uncertainty. People are definitely concerned still with Brexit,’’ he added, referring to the U.K.’s vote late last month to exit the European Union.

The declines in the TSX and in the Canadian dollar came as the August crude contract fell $2.29 to US$45.14 per barrel, following a report from the Energy Information Administration in the U.S. that showed energy stockpiles remain at historically high levels.

The report said inventories shrank last week by 2.2 million barrels — less than the 2.6 million-barrel drop that analysts had predicted, according to S&P Global Platts.

The decline in energy prices came after a similar drop earlier in the week. On Tuesday, the benchmark crude price slipped $2.39. The price of gold was also down after staging a rally in recent days that brought it to some of the highest levels it has seen recently.