Fab 5 techs drag Dow to lowest levels

North American markets suffered steep losses Thursday as declines triggered by China’s currency devaluation, indicating a slowing economy, continued to ripple outward.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 299.63 points for a fourth consecutive losing session, led by a 5-percent fall in health care issues, a relatively small sector in terms of its weighting.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 358.04 points to 16,990.69. The high-tech Nasdaq gave back 141.56 points.

Here are how some of the most actively traded Toronto stocks fared Thursday:

Bombardier Inc. The aerospace and rail equipment maker rose eight cents, or 6.72 per cent, to $1.27 on 30.5 million shares.

Bombardier’s shares got a lift after the company said its C-Series commercial aircraft is on track for certification this year.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals fell $21.47, or 6.70 per cent, to $298.75 after announcing it will pay $1billion (U.S.) to acquire the maker of a libido drug dubbed, if somewhat incorrectly, the female Viagra.

Yamana Gold rose 16 cents, or 5.35 per cent, to $3.15. Gold stocks have been rising on worries over global growth.

Crescent Point Energy fell 66 cents, or 4.48 per cent, a day after releasing disappointing earnings and cutting its dividend.

In the U.S., a handful of stocks, called the Fab 5, led the decline.

Netflix, the best performer on the S&P 500 this year with a 133 per cent rally, slid 6.9 per cent to $113.68 in New York, the sharpest decline for the shares since October.

The biggest online subscription video service has been climbing amid a 12-per cent plunge in media stocks in the past month.

Apple, the S&P 500’s biggest company, erased about $12 billion in value Thursday as the shares slid 2.2 per cent, extending losses to 15 per cent from a high in February.

Amazon, Facebook and Google shares paced declines in the Nasdaq 100 Index, each losing at least 1.9 per cent.

“As you get to the later stages of a market pullback or correction, people will typically sell those stocks in which they’ve had big profits,” Marshall Front, the Chicago-based chief investment officer at Front Barnett Associates LLC, said by phone.

“This is a risk-off day and these are highly marketable, easily sold securities.”

Other battered tech issues include Twitter, which dipped below its 2013 IPO price, falling 5.8 per cent to close at $26 (U.S.). With files from Star wire services