TSX Falls 1.6% On Widespread Selling

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market ended sharply lower on Wednesday, weighed down by losses in energy, financials and technology sectors.

Several stocks from materials, healthcare and real estate sectors too posted sharp losses.

The turmoil in the banking sector following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in the U.S., and the debt woes of Swiss lender Credit Suisse hurt sentiment. Falling crude oil prices triggered heavy selling in the energy sector.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a loss of 315.32 points or 1.6% at 19,378.84, nearly 200 points off the session's low of 19,179.43.

Energy stocks Baytex Energy (BTE.TO), Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO), Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO), Suncor Energy (SU.TO), MEG Energy (MEG.TO), Whitecap Resources (WCP.TO), Tamarack Vally Energy (TVE.TO), TC Energy Corporation (TRP.TO), Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) and Enbridge Inc (ENB.TO) lost 3 to 8% on huge volumes.

Financials shares National Bank of Canada (NA.TO), Manulife Financial Corporation (MFC.TO), Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO), Laurentian Bank (LB.TO), Sun Life Financial (SLF.TO) and CDN Western Bank (CWB.TO) posted sharp losses.

In the technology sector, Evertz Technologies (ET.TO), Dye & Durham (DND.TO), Converge Technology Solutions (CTS.TO), Tecsys Inc (TCS.TO) and Celestica Inc (CLS.TO) lost 3 to 6%.

Among materials shares, First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO), Stelco Holdings (STLC.TO), Ivanhoe Mines (IVN.TO), Teck Resources (TECK.B.TO), Ero Copper (ERO.TO), Lundin Mining (LUN.TO), Hudbay Minerals (HBM.TO) and Methanex Corp (MX.TO) lost 5 to 9%.

Bausch Health Companies (BHC.TO), Cronos Group (CRON.TO), Tilray Inc (TLRY.TO) and Canopy Growth Corp (WEED.TO) were among the major losers in the healthcare space.

On the economic front, data from the Canada Mortgage And Housing Corporation showed housing starts in Canada surged by 13% over a month earlier to 243,959 units in February.