Canadian Market Firmly Down In Negative Territory On Widespread Selling

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market is down firmly in negative territory at noon on Monday with stocks from across several sectors reeling under sustained selling pressure.

Materials stocks are down on weak bullion prices. Technology, healthcare, utilities and communications shares are among the other major losers. Several stocks from real estate, consumer discretionary and energy sectors are also notably lower.

Fading hopes of an early rate cut by the Federal Reserve following recent upbeat economic data and hawkish comments from top officials weigh significantly on the market.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is down 217.89 points or 1.03% at 20,867.20 at noon.

On the economic front, the S&P Global Canada Composite PMI reading for January came in at 46.3, pointing to the eighth consecutive decline in the Canadian private sector activity. However, the reading was higher than the 44.7 score in the previous month.

The S&P Global Canada Services PMI posted 45.8 in January 2023, up from November's 44.6, but still marking the eighth consecutive month of contraction in the country's services sector.

Methanex Corporation (MX.TO), Docebo Inc (DCBO.TO), Cogeco Inc (CGO.TO), Ag Growth International (AFN.TO), Kinaxis Inc (KXS.TO) and Constellation Software (CSU.TO) are down 2 to 4%.

Stella-Jones (SJ.TO), Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO), CGI Inc (GIB.A.TO), Franco-Nevada Corporation (FNV.TO), West Fraser Timber (WFG.TO) and Intact Financial Corporation (IFC.TO) are also down sharply.

Nuvei Corporation (NVEI.TO), Celestica Inc (CLS.TO), Bombardier Inc (BBD.B.TO) and GFL Environmental (GFL.TO) are down 1 to 1.5%.