Healthcare, Resources Shares Dragging Down Canadian Market

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market is down in negative territory a little past noon on Tuesday, dragged down by sharp losses in healthcare, materials and energy sections.

Weak commodity prices are weighing on energy and materials shares. The mood is quite cautious with investors looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement for directional clues.

The Fed is likely to leave interest rates unchanged but could announce plans to begin scaling back its asset purchase program.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is down 56.33 points or 0.27% at 21,190.68.

The Capped Healthcare Index is climbing 3.2%. Bausch Health Companies (BHC.TO) is down nearly 6%. reported net income $188 million for the third quarter, as compared to $71 million for the third quarter of 2020, a favorable change of $117 million. Adjusted net income for the third quarter of 2021 was $417 million, as compared to $469 million for the third quarter of 2020.

Tilray Inc (TLRY.TO) is lower by about 3.5%. Organigram Holdings (OGI.TO), Canopy Growth Corp (WEED.TO), Cronos Group (CRON.TO), Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO) and Well Health Companies (WELL.TO) are down 1.3 to 2%.

Materials shares Hudbay Minerals (HBM.TO), K92 Mining Inc (KNT.TO), Nutrien Inc (NTR.TO), First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO), Teck Resources (TECK.B.TO), Lundin Mining Corp (LUN.TO) and Interfor Corp (IFP.TO) are down 2 to 4%.

In the energy section, Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO), Suncor Energy (SU.TO), Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO), MEG Energy (MEG.TO), Whitecap Resources (WCP.TO), Vermilion Energy (VET.TO) and Parex Resources (PXT.TO) are down 1.7 to 2.8%.

Air Canada Inc (AC.TO) reported operating loss of $364 million in the third quarter, compared to an operating loss of $785 million in the third quarter of 2020. The stock is up 4%

Thomson Reuters Inc. (TRI.TO) reported third-quarter adjusted profit per share of $0.46, compared to $0.39, prior year. The stock is down marginally.

In economic news, the value of building permits in Canada increased 4.3% month-over-month to C$ 10.1 billion in September, rebounding from a downwardly revised 2% decrease in the previous month and faster than market expectations of a 3.1% increase.