TSX Ends Weak On Lower Earnings Guidance, Growth Concerns

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market opened weak on Wednesday and kept edging lower as the session progressed as lingering concerns about growth and uncertainty about Brexit rendered the mood bearish.

Data showing a notable drop in Canadian wholesale sales in the month of August, some not so strong quarterly results and lower earning guidance by Rogers Communications and Canadian National Railways weighed on stocks.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite ended down 55.59 points, or 0.34%, at 16,335.93, after touching a low of 16,309.18 intraday.

Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI.A.TO) plunged more than 8%. The company said its full-year revenue may be lower on a year-over-year basis due to the demand for unlimited data plans. It expects its revenue to be between a 1% increase and 1% decrease for the year, projections that pale in comparison to the 3 - 5% revenue growth the company had offered in earlier guidance.

The telco also cut its guidance on adjusted EBITDA to anywhere between 3 to 5% from its earlier expectations of 7 to 9%. It reported adjusted net income of $622 million, or $1.19 per share, for the quarter ended September 2019, compared to net income of $625 million, or $1.21 per share, in the year-ago quarter.

BCE Inc. (BCE.TO), Telus Corp (T.TO) and Shaw Communications (SJR.B.TO) lost 4 to 4.5%. Caogeco Communications (CCA.TO) shed 3.3%, while Quebecor Inc. (QBR.B.TO) and Cineplex (CGX.TO) ended lower by 2.4% and 1.1%, respectively. The Capped Telecommunications Index shed more than 3%.

Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) ended modestly lower. The company reported a net income of $1.2 billion for the quarter ended September 30, up 0.5% over its net income in the year-ago quarter. The company has cut its profit outlook for 2019, saying a weaker economy has eroded rail demand.

Gildan Activewear (GIL.TO), Canada Goose Holdings (GOOS.TO), Kinaxis Inc. (KXS.TO), George Weston (WN.TO), Waste Connections (WCN.TO), Shopify Inc. (SHOP.TO) and Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) ended with sharp to moderate losses.

Candian Tire Corporation (CTC.TO), West Fraser Timber (WFT.TO), Methanex (MX.TO), SNC-Lavalin (SNC.TO), Canopy Growth Corporation (WEED.TO), Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO), Linamar Corporation (LNR.TO) and Franco-Nevada Corporation (FNV.TO) posted strong gains.

On the economic front, data from Statistics Canada showed Canadian wholesale sales declined 1.2% to $64.3 billion in August, largely offsetting the 1.4% gain in July.

U.S. stocks ended modestly higher after a choppy session. Brexit uncertainty and a lack of major economic data rendered the mood cautious.

Traders digested the latest batch of earnings news from top companies like Boeing (BA) and Caterpillar (CAT). Disappointing guidance from Texas Corporation (TXN) weighed on tech stocks.

The Dow and the Nasdaq both ended up 0.2%, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.3%.

Stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region and Europe ended mixed.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended up $1.49, or about 2.7%, at $55.97 a barrel, the highest settlement in nearly a month.

Gold futures for December ended up $8.20, or about 0.6%, at $1,495.70 an ounce, after rising to a high of $1,499.40 in the session.

Silver futures for December ended up $0.080 at $17.580 an ounce, while Copper futures for December closed higher by $0.0385 at $2.6715 per pound.