TSX Ends On Weak Note As Energy, Materials Shares Drift Lower

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market ended on a weak note on Monday after staying in negative territory right through the day's session, due largely to sustained selling in materials and energy sections.

Weak commodity prices, and worries that the surge in coronavirus cases and the resultant fresh restrictions in several countries, including China, could dent the prospects of a speedier economic recovery weighed on sentiment.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended down by 38 points or 0.19% at 20,437.42, after moving in a narrow range between 20,370.21 and 20,446.37. The index had closed at a record high of 20,475.42 on Friday.

The Capped Energy Index shed 2.13%. Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO) declined 4.4%. Enerplus Corp (ERF.TO), Arc Resources (ARX.TO), Whitecap Resources (WCP.TO), Tourmaline Oil Corp (TOU.TO), Suncor Energy (SU.TO), Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) and Vermilion Energy (VET.TO) lost 2 to 3.5%.

In the materials section, Endeavour Silver Corp (EDR.TO) plunged nearly 8%. Silvercorp Metals (SVM.TO), Silvercrest Metals (SIL.TO), MAG Silver Corp (MAG.TO), Pan American Silver Corp (PAAS.TO) and Ssr Mining (SSRM.TO) lost 4.4 to 6.1%. Eldorado Gold (ELD.TO), Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM.TO) and Kirkland Lake Gold (KL.TO) also declined sharply.

A few stocks from the healthcare section moved up sharply. Bausch Health Companies (BHC.TO) climbed 3.3%, Tilray Inc (TLRY.TO) gained about 2%, Organigram Holdings (OGI.TO) gained 1.8% and Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO) ended higher by 1.3%.

Technology stocks Hut 8 Mining Corp (HUT.TO) and Kinaxis Inc (KXS.TO) gained about 9% and 3.5%, respectively. Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) climbed 1.75%, BlackBerry (BB.TO) gained 1.3% and Alithya Group (ALYA.TO) ended higher by 1.15%.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended down by $1.80 or about 2.6% at $66.48 a barrel. The contract fell to as low as $65.15 a barrel in the Asian session.

Gold futures for December ended down by $36.60 or about 2.1% at $1,726.50 an ounce, the lowest settlement since March 31.

Silver futures for September ended lower by $1.057 or about 3.8% at $23.269 an ounce, while Copper futures for September settled at $4.2895 per pound, down $0.0585 or 1.3% from the previous close.