The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Barrick Gold fell 6.3 per cent on Thursday, amid a broad market sell-off in the gold sector, after it released weaker-than-expected financial results on Wednesday evening. The Globe's Niall McGee writes that the pain in the gold sector was not confined to Barrick. Goldcorp also took a hit Thursday after it posted a $131-million net loss in the second quarter. Agnico Eagle Mines also had a bad day at the office after its quarterly results also fell short of estimates. Of the three major Canadian gold companies though, Barrick is the one that can least afford to slip up. It has lost one-fifth of its market value this year, materially underperforming both Agnico and Goldcorp. In a note to clients, RBC analyst Stephen Walker called Barrick's second-quarter results "noisy," after it unveiled a number of one-time charges that swung the firm to a $94-million net loss. Among the charges was about $28-million in severance paid out to laid-off employees. Barrick now has about 350 people working in administrative roles, compared with 780 at the end of last year. Barrick closed Thursday at $14.46, down 97 cents on the Toronto Stock Exchange.