Canadian Market Set For Another Weak Close

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market is on course to end on a weak note on Thursday, extending recent losses, as stocks from across several sectors are reeling under sustained selling pressure amid rising fears about a possible recession.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which plunged to 18,665.34, losing more than 400 points in the process, was down 244.55 points or 1.28% at 18,834.09 a little while ago.

Healthcare, materials and energy stocks are among the major losers. The Health Care Capped Index is down 3.25% and the Materials Capped Index is down 3.1%, while the Energy Index is lower by nearly 2%.

Several stocks from technology, consumer staples and consumer discretionary sectors are also down with sharp losses.

Teck Resources (TECK.A.TO), Nuvei Corporation (NVEI.TO), Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO), Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO), Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM.TO), Alimentation Couche-Tard (ATD.B.TO) and Franco-Nevada Corporation (FNV.TO) are down 4 to 5%.

Magna International (MG.TO), Tourmaline Oil Corp (TOU.TO), Nutrien (NTR.TO) and Constellation Software (CSU.TO) are among the other prominent losers.

Softchoice Corporation (SFTC.TO) is soaring nearly 12%. Quebecor Inc (QBR.A.TO) and Sierra Wireless (SW.TO) are gaining 6% and 5.4%, respectively.

Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO), TFI International (TFII.TO), West Fraser Timber (WFG.TO), WSP Global Inc (WSP.TO), FirstService Corporation (FSV.TO), Cargojet (CJT.TO) and Thomson Reuters (TRI.TO) are up 1 to 3%.

A report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business showed small business sentiment in Canada decreased to 59.36 points in June from 61.60 points in May of 2022.

Data from Statistics Canada showed the Canadian economy likely contracted 0.2% month-over-month in May of 2022. Regarding April, the Canadian GDP rose by 0.3% month-over-month, following a 0.7% expansion in March and surpassing preliminary estimates of a 0.2% rise.