After three straight days of gains, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index started on Wednesday on a bearish note.
The index was pulled down by the huge losses in the materials and energy sectors, where gold and crude oil experienced losses in the international market.
At 12 noon EST, the index stood at 20,665.54, with a drop of 39.25 points, or 0.19 per cent. With that, the index had lost 0.06 per cent in the past five days but gained 1.43 per cent in the past month. In addition, the TSX had risen by 3.55 per cent in the past three months but fallen by 3.35 per cent in the past year.
Among the companies, Bausch Health Cos. Inc. was leading the chart with a gain of 13.62 per cent. Toromont Industries Ltd. was in second place with a gain of 5.81 per cent. Shopify Inc. was in third with a gain of 5.61 per cent.
Conversely, the three stocks at the bottom of the chart by the same 12 noon were Converge Technology Solutions Corp. with a loss of 13.53 per cent; Tamarack Valley Energy Ltd. with a loss of 4.95 per cent; and OceanaGold Corp., which had 4.87 per cent slashed off its value.
At the sectoral level, the healthcare sector was at the forefront with a gain of 4.45 per cent, followed by information technology with 2.29 per cent, and consumer staples with 0.88 per cent. The least-performing sectors were materials, with a loss of 1.83 per cent, energy, with a loss of 1.64 per cent, and utilities with a loss of 0.24 per cent.
Across the southern border, it was a mixed bag of fortunes. While the NASDAQ and RUSSELL 2000 were up, the DOW and S&P 500 were down.
NASDAQ stood at 11,987.70 with a gain of 27.56 points, or 0.23 per cent. Similarly, RUSSELL 2000 was up 0.32 per cent, or 6.13 points, standing at 1,946.04. S&P 500 dropped to 4,130.69, shedding 5.44 points, or 0.13 per cent, while the DOW dropped to 33,991.63, losing 97.64 points, or 0.29 per cent.
The loonie also fell against the American dollar, exchanging for US$0.7456 and shedding $0.0038, or 0.5004 per cent.
Crude oil also fell to US$77.72 per barrel, losing $1.34, or 1.69 per cent, while gold futures fell by $1,847.00 per ounce, losing $18.40, or 0.99 per cent.
Now let us look at the stories our readers have paid more attention to.
Market movers
Within the first half of the week, our investment-focused readers have shown more interest in the mining and renewable energy sectors.
B2Gold Corp. (BTO) agreed to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Sabina Gold & Silver Corp.
First Hydrogen (FHYD) unveiled new images of its hydrogen fuel cell vehicle (FCEV), designed in collaboration with EDAG Group.
Nevada Copper (NCU) restarted production at its Pumpkin Hollow underground copper mine.
Capital raises in the week include Water Ways, Puranium Energy, Allied Copper, Brunswick Exploration, and Xtract One Technologies, Martello Technologies, Bunker Hill Mining, and Callinex Mines.
Keep a date with us next week when we’ll bring you another edition of the market summary.