Following a record high closure, the Canadian stock market experienced a decline as investors engaged in profit-taking. Sectors like communications, real estate, technology, and consumer discretionary stocks were notably affected.The S&P/TSX Composite Index, Canada’s leading stock market benchmark, diminished by 77.44 points or 0.35% to settle at 22,009.82 points. This came after a fluctuation between a low of 21,964.98 points and a high of 22,123.09 points during the day.Preliminary data reveal that Canada’s retail sales increase was modest in February, up by 0.1%. This follows a 0.3% decrease in January, a slight improvement from the initially projected 0.4% downturn. However, Canada’s retail sales, excluding the motor vehicle and parts dealers, rose by 0.5% in January, reflecting somewhat of a decrease from the prior month’s 0.6%.Among communications stocks, corporations such as Telus Corp, Rogers Communications, and Quebecor Inc incurred losses of approximately 2.5%, 1.4%, and 1.8%, correspondingly. Other firms like Cogeco Communications and BCE Inc also ended on a notably lower note.In the real estate sector, stocks like Interrent Real Estate Investment, Killam Apartment, Boardwalk Real Estate Investment, and Northwest Healthcare shed between 2.2 to 3.3%.Within the technology sector was a negative wave too. Alithya Group dropped close to 9%, while Coveo Solutions fell around 4.2%. Others such as BlackBerry, Bitfarms, Kinaxis Inc, and CGI Group also declined, by 2 to 3.3%.Consumer discretionary stocks such as Canada Goose Holdings, Dollarama Inc, Mty Food Group, and Magna International lost between 1 to 3%.Mining and material sector stocks like Osisko Mining, Wesdome Gold Mines, K92 Mining, Capstone Mining Corp, Lundin Gold, and Lithium Americas Corp were among the significant losers.However, Lithium Americas Corp climbed nearly 9%, while West Fraser Timber and Eldorado Gold gained approximately 1.7% and 1.3%, respectively.Among finance shares, Power Corporation of Canada strongly fell by 4.6%. Other corporations such as Fairfax Financial Holdings, Laurentian Bank, EQB Inc, Sun Life Financial, and Royal Bank of Canada dropped from 0.8 to 1.4%.Cannabis stocks soared as investors responded favorably to Germany’s legislation legalizing cannabis. Companies like Tilray Inc, Canopy Growth Corp, and Aurora Cannabis profited from the news with cannabis expected to be acknowledged as a non-narcotic in Germany from April 1.The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com
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