TSX Ends Sharply Lower On Widespread Selling

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market ended sharply lower on Tuesday, weighed down rising bond yields and disappointing U.S. and Chinese economic data. Weak commodity prices hurt as well.

Selling was so widespread that all the sectoral indices ended in negative territory.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which opened with a negative gap of about 90 points, ended the day with a loss of 289.28 points or 1.41% at 20,174.14, after tumbling to a low of 20,128.06.

Information technology stocks bore the brunt of the selling pressure. The Capped Information Technology Index dropped by 3.77%. Hut 8 Mining Corp (HUT.TO) tumbled 6.6%, while Nuvei Corp (NVEI.TO), Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) and Lightspeed Pos (LSPD.TO) lost 4.6 to 5%. CGI Group (GIB.A.TO), Sierra Wireless (SW.TO), Absolute Software Corp (ABST.TO) and BlackBerry (BB.TO) ended lower by 3 to 4%.

The Consumer Discretionary Index shed 2.22%. Spin Master Corp (TOY.TO) ended nearly 6% down and Canada Goose Holdings (GOOS.TO) shed 4.8%. Brp Inc (DOO.TO), Martinrea International (MRE.TO), Gildan Activewear (GIL.TO), Dollarama Inc (DOL.TO), Magna International (MG.TO) and Restaurant Brands International (QSR.TO) also declined sharply.

The Healthcare Index declined 2.02%. Tilray Inc (TLRY.TO) shed about 4.2%, Cronos Group (CRON.TO) lost 3.7%, Canopy Growth Corp (WEED.TO) ended nearly 3% down and Organigram Holdings (OGI.TO) declined 2.5%.

Aurora Cannabis Inc (ACB.TO) ended stronger by nearly 7%. The company reported fourth-quarter net loss of C$134 million, an improvement from a loss of more than C$1.8 billion in the same quarter a year ago. Net sales declined to C$54.8 million from C$72.1 million a year ago.

SNC-Lavalin (SNC.TO) shares ended lower by about 2% after the company said that it is making a substantial commitment to deliver growth and target positive cash flows, which should position it to grow organically and inorganically. The company released, Pivoting to Growth Strategy, its three-year global strategic plan as per which it will focus its efforts on its three core regions— United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.

Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM.TO) and Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. (KL.TO, KL) announced they have entered into an agreement to combine in a merger of equals. Shares of Agnico Eagle Mines ended lower by about 1.2%, while Kirkland Lake Gold lost nearly 7%.

In economic news, average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees in Canada rose 1.8% year-on-year to C$ 1,133 in July, and advanced 1% on a monthly basis.

U.S. stocks are down sharply. With the steep drops on the day, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 fell to their lowest closing levels in one and two months, respectively. The Dow tumbled 1.6%, the Nasdaq plunged 2.8% and the S&P 500 slumped 2%.

The major European markets closed sharply lower and most of the markets across the Asia-Pacific region too ended on a weak note on Tuesday.