TSX Ends Lower For 3rd Straight Day

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market ended weak on Thursday, weighed down by losses in technology and utilities sections.

Several stocks from communications, financials and materials sectors too posted notable losses.

The mood was cautious due to lingering worries about economic slowdown. Investors reacted to a slew of earnings updates from Canadian companies, and looked ahead to crucial U.S. non-farm payroll data, due on Friday.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which dropped to a low of 20,077.53 in early trades, ended the session with a loss of 97.47 points or 0.48% at 20,120.74, the lowest closing levels in about three weeks.

Utilities stocks Brookfield Infra Partners (BIP.UN.TO) and Fortis Inc (FTS.TO) lost 4.8% and 4.1%, respectively.

Emerca Incorporated (EMA.TO), Hydro One (H.TO) and Canadian Utilities (CU.TO) lost 2.4 to 2.8%, while Boralex Inc (BLX.TO) and Algonquin Power and Utilities (AQN.TO) ended lower by 1.9% and 1.8%, respectively.

Among technology stocks, Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) drifted down 5.4%. Coveo Solutions (CVO.TO) and Enghouse Systems (ENGH.TO) both ended nearly 4% down.

Energy stocks turned in a fine performance. Vermilion Energy (VET.TO) climbed 5.2%. Secure Energy Services (SES.TO), Athabasca Oil Corp (ATH.TO), MEG Energy (MEG.TO), Birchcliff Energy (BIR.TO), International Petroleum Corp (IPCO.TO), Arc Resources (ARX.TO) and Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) gained 2.5 to 4%. Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO) and Whitecap Resources (WCP.TO) also ended sharply higher.

Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) gained about 1.2% after the company reported net earnings fof $1,463 million for the second quarter of this financial year, compared to $3,502 million in the year-ago quarter.

SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. (SNC) shares soared more than 10% on strong results. The company reported net income from continuing operations of $63.8 million or $0.36 per share for the second quarter, significantly higher than $1.6 million or $0.01 per share a year ago.

BCE (BCE.TO) ended 1.1% down. The company reported second-quarter net earnings of $397 million, down 39.3% compared with net earnings of $654 million in the second quarter of the previous financial year.

Gildan Activewear Ltd. (GIL.TO) posted net earnings of $155.3 million in the second quarter of this fiscal, compared with $158.2 million a year ago. The stock ended lower by about 1.6%.

Bombardier Inc. (BBD.A.TO) shares plunged more than 8% after reporting a net loss of $35 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, compared to net loss of $129 million in the corresponding quarter last year.