[1/2] The Art Deco facade of the original Toronto Stock Exchange building is seen on Bay Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada January 23, 2019.
ET (1513 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) was down 295.24 points, or 1.48%, at 19,596.41.
All sectors declined, led by materials (.GSPTTMT), which sank 2.2% to an about two-week low as gold prices toppled against a stronger dollar.
Meanwhile, Canadian housing starts edged lower in November compared with the previous month as a drop in single-detached urban starts offset groundbreaking in multiple unit urban homes, data from the national housing agency showed on Thursday.
Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Maju SamuelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.