By Carolyn King
TORONTO--Canadian stocks joined a global selloff Wednesday
sparked by fresh fears about economic growth. Copper stocks were
expecially hard hit.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 102.73 points, or 0.7%, to
14084.43, and declining issues doubled advances. Trading volume of
479.9 million shares was higher than Tuesday's volume of 462.3
million shares.
The blue-chip S&P/TSX 60 Index lost 0.8% to 821.63.
The materials group, which includes copper and other mining
stocks, lost 2.4%. Copper prices suffered their biggest one-day
drop in more than three years as the global growth concerns. The
metal is used in a wide variety of products and is thus a key
economic barometer for many investors. Among miners, First Quantum
Minerals lost 13.1% while Teck Resources fell 6.5%.
Toronto's energy group rose 2.3% as oil prices rebounded
Wednesday from recent steep declines.
Suncor Energy, which late Tuesday announced cuts to its capital
spending program but no planned output reduction, edged up 0.2%.
Other energy firms did even better, with Canadian Oil Sands
advancing 7.0% and Cenovus gaining 2.5%.
BlackBerry surged 29.5% late in the session on a Reuters report
that Samsung has recently approached the Canadian smartphone
company about a potential takeover.
Write to Carolyn King at carolyn.m.king@wsj.com
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