TSX Ends Weak On Growth Worries

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market ended lower on Thursday, led by losses in energy, materials and information technology sections, as the mood remained a bit bearish amid worries about growth and a lack of any stimulus announcement from the Federal Reserve.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell cautioned that the pace of recovery is expected to slow and called for fiscal stimulus from Congress. But then, due to the continued impasse over a new coronavirus stimulus bill, it looks unlikely that the U.S. government will come out with any positive news on this front anytime soon.

Data showing U.S. jobless claims saw a smaller than expected drop last week, and Canadian private businesses shed over 205,400 jobs in August weighed as well on sentiment.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which tumbled nearly 200 points in early trades to 16,103.07, ended the day with a loss of 48.94 points or 0.3% at 16,246.72.

Bombardier Inc. (BBD.B.TO), Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) and Barrick Gold Corporation (ABX.TO) lost 3.3 to 3.5% on heavy volumes.

Shopify Inc. (SHOP.TO) declined nearly 2%. Docebo Inc. (DCBO.TO), Restaurant Brands International (QSR.TO), Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO), Kinaxis Inc. (KXS.TO) and Constellation Software (CSU.TO) also ended notably lower.

Nuvei Corporation (NVEI.TO) surged up nearly 63% on debut. The payments company raised US$700 million through an IPO, the largest amount ever rised by a technology company in the Canadian market history.

Ag Growth International (AFN.TO) soared more than 11%. Maxar Technologies (MAXR.TO) climbed nearly 6%, while Alimentation Couche-Tard (ATD.B.TO) and Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) gained 2.2% and 1.2%, respectively.

In economic news from Canada, data from ADP showed private businesses shed 205,400 jobs in August 2020, after shedding about 523,000 jobs in July.

U.S. stocks ended weak amid concerns economic recovery will not be as swift as earlier hoped. The Dow shed 0.5%, the Nasdaq tumbled 1.3% and the S&P 500 slumped 0.8%.

The major European markets ended lower and markets across the Asia-Pacific region slipped as well.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended up $0.81 or about 2% at $40.97 a barrel, well off the session's low of $39.42.

Gold futures for December ended down $20.60 or about 1.1% at $1,949.90 an ounce, after hitting a low of $1,938.20 an ounce around mid-morning.

Silver futures for December closed lower by $0.376 at $27.100 an ounce, while Copper futures for December settled at $3.0710 per pound, down $0.0100 from the previous close.