TSX Ends Slightly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market ended marginally down on Tuesday as investors largely refrained from making significant moves due to a lack of triggers and amid some uncertainty about the pace of economic recovery.

Weak commodity prices too contributed to the cautious mood in the market.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended down 13.66 points or 0.07% at 18,705.56, nearly 100 points off the day's low of 18,606.57.

Materials shares declined sharply. Healthcare stocks ended with strong gains. Consumer discretionary, industrial, technology and energy stocks found some support, while financial shares ended mixed.

In the materials section, B2Gold Corp (BTO.TO), New Gold (NGD.TO), Novagold (NG.TO), Kirkland Lake Gold (KL.TO), Osisko Mining (OSK.TO), Iamgold (IMG.TO), Silvercrest Metals (SIL.TO), Yamana Gold (YRI.TO) and Ssr Mining (SSRM.TO) lost 4 to 7%.

Healthcare stocks Aphria Inc (APHA.TO), Canopy Growth Corp (WEED.TO) and Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (AUP.TO) gained 4.15%, 2.2% and 2.1%, respectively. Cronos Group (CRON.TO), Trillium Therapeutics (TRIL.TO) and Bausch Health Companies (BHC.TO) gained 1.5 to 2%.

In vaccine news, Canada has suspended the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine for people under age 55 following concerns it might be linked to rare blood clots.

Data from Statistics Canada showed average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees in Canada grew 8.3% year-on-year to C$ 1,135 in January, following an upwardly revised 6.9% rise in December.