TSX Snaps 8-day Winning Streak, Ends Slightly Down

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market ended slightly down on Wednesday, snapping an 8-day winning streak, as materials and energy stocks drifted lower on weak commodity prices.

The mood remained cautious amid concerns about growth and uncertainty about U.S. interest rates.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which once again moved in a tight range, ended lower by 3.85 points or 0.02% at 20,680.83.

Materials shares Capstone Mining Corp (CS.TO) and Lundin Mining Corp (LUN.TO) lost 5.27% and 4.17%, respectively. Centerra Gold (CG.TO), Novagold (NG.TO) and First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) ended lower by more than 3%.

In the energy sector, Suncor Energy (SU.TO), Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO), Vermilion Energy (VET.TO), PrairieSky Royalty (PSK.TO), Enerplus Corp (ERF.TO) and Tourmaline Oil Corp (TOU.TO) lost 1.2 to 2%.

Richelieu Hardware (RCH.TO), Aritzia Inc (ATZ.TO), Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO), FirstService Corporation (FSV.TO) and Sprott Inc (SII.TO) gained 1.9 to 3.6%.

On the economic front, housing starts in Canada slipped by 11% over a month earlier to 213,865 units in March, data from the Canada Mortgage And Housing Corporation.

Data released by Statistics Canada showed raw materials prices in Canada sank 16.5% year-on-year in March. Producer prices in Canada fell by 1.8% from the previous year in March, the first decrease since July 2020.