USA stocks also declined on energy as producers dropped with the price of crude oil, hindering the S&P 500 Index’s quest for the longest monthly winning streak in three years.
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“There’s definitely challenges ahead for Canada”, he said. “Investors have a heightened sense that possibly the markets are overvalued”.
Barrick Gold Corp fell 2.1 percent to C$22.33, pressured by lower gold prices.
Stocks ended lower on Wall Street on Wednesday, as energy shares tracked oil prices lower, and the S&P posted a loss for August, the first negative month for the benchmark index since February.
Meanwhile, in currency markets, the Canadian dollar declined by 0.43 of a cent to 76.36 cents United States as oil prices weakened for a second straight day. Seven of the index’s 10 main groups fell.
The Dow and the S&P also erased all their gains for August, while the NASDAQ held about 0.9% higher month to date.
On the bright side, consumer staples moved higher as Loblaw gathered 36 cents to $71.35, and Saputo Inc. gained 36 cents to $43.60.
The October crude contract was down $1.25 at $45.10 per barrel and October natural gas was up 2.7 cents to $2.85 per mmBTU.
Statistics Canada said real gross domestic product fell at an annualized rate of 1.6 per cent during the second quarter thanks to weak exports and the wildfires in Fort McMurray, Alta., which forced oilsands operators to curb production.
Gold slid to a two-month low after forecast-beating U.S.jobs data stoked speculation that the Federal Reserve would move ahead with plans to raise interest rates.
The strong numbers sharpened the focus on Friday’s payrolls report. Scotia said it had a profit of $1.96 billion in its latest quarter, up six per cent from a year ago.
“The Fed has been talking about being data-dependent and watching information closely”.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down by 57.15 points to 18,445.84, the broader S&P 500 composite index declined 5.4 points to 2,174.98 and the Nasdaq composite lost 12.63 points to 5,219.70.
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H&R Block Inc was the top percentage loser on the S&P 500, falling 10.5 per cent after the US tax preparer reported quarterly revenue that missed analysts’ expectations by a large margin.
