Canadian Stocks Pull Back Off Record Highs

(RTTNews) - After trending higher over the past couple weeks, Canadian stocks gave back some ground during trading on Wednesday.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 216.46 points or 0.8 percent to 25,839.17 snapping a ten-day winning streak and pulling back off yesterday's record closing high.

The pullback by Canadian stocks partly reflected concerns about rising U.S. treasury yields amid concerns about the fiscal impact of a new U.S. tax bill on the country's deficit.

President Donald Trump's sweeping tax and spending bill is one step closer to a full vote in the House of Representatives, with economists warning the proposal would add more than $2.5 trillion to the federal debt over the next decade.

Healthcare stocks turned in some of the worst performances on the day, with the S&P/TSX Capped Health Care Index plunging by 2.6 percent.

Technology, commercial real estate and industrial stocks also saw considerable weakness, while gold stocks bucked the downtrend amid another notable increase by the price of the precious metal.