Canadian Stocks Down Slightly At Noon In Lackluster Trade

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks are turning in a mixed performance in lackluster trade on Wednesday with traders largely staying on the sidelines amid a lack of positive cues.

Uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates appears to be weighing a bit on sentiment.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is 5.71 points or 0.03% at 20,952.03 a few minutes past noon. The index dropped to a low of 20.900.94.

Technology stocks are in demand. The Information Technology Capped Index is rising nearly 1.5%. Materials and energy stocks are among the notable losers.

Coveo Solutions (CVO.TO), up 6.5%, is the top gainer in the technology space. Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) is gaining 3.5%. Docebo Inc. (DCBO.TO) and Softchoice Corp (SFTC.TO) are up 3% and 2.5%, respectively. Enghouse Systems (ENGH.TO), Celestica Inc (CLS.TO), Constellation Software (CSU.TO) and CGI Inc (GIB.A.TO) are also notably higher.

Materials shares Novagold Resources (NG.TO) and First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) are declining 5% and 4.1%, respectively. Alamos Gold (AGI.TO), Interfor Corp (IFP.TO), Fortuna Silver Mines (FVI.TO), Canfor Corp (CFP.TO) and Hudbay Minerals (HBM.TO) are down 2 to 2.5%.

Energy stock Africa Oil Corp (AOI.TO) is down 3.2%. Arc Resources (ARX.TO), Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO), Whitecap Resources (WCP.TO), Parex Resources (PXT.TO) and Imperial Oil (IMO.TO) are lower by 1 to 1.7%.

On the economic front, data from Statistics Canada showed Canada reported a trade deficit of C$ 0.3 billion in December 2023, after posting a downwardly revised surplus of C$ 1.1 billion in November.

Canadian exports fell by 1.9% to C$ 64.07 billion in December, while imports edged up 0.2% to C$ 64.39 billion.