The TSX took the briefest of breathers early this morning before resuming the plunge that took it down 3% yesterday. The composite index was 300 points lower, down another 2.5%, to 12,078 this morning as jittery investors afraid of a double-dip recession sold off their stocks. Teck Resources was down 3% to $41.63 today and is off 13.5% in the past five sessions, shaving billions off its market cap. First Quantum Minerals shares were down 4.6% to $110.82. Telus shares were down 1.5% to $50.50 despite increasing second-quarter profit and a dividend hike.
Spot gold was up $9 to $1,658 US an ounce and Goldcorp shares were flat at $45.13. Silver Wheaton, however, was off 4% to $32.98. West Texas crude oil was down 83 cents to $85.80 and the Canadian dollar ws down another 39 basis points to 101.62 cents US.
The damage wasn't quite as bad south of the border, perhaps tempered by a U.S. jobs report that beat expectations. The Dow Jones was down 132 points to 11,252 and the Nasdaq was 54 points lower, to 2,502.
