TSX Fails To Hold Early Gains, Ends Marginally Down

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market failed to hold early gains and ended marginally down on Monday due largely to some heavy selling at several counters in the energy sector.

Energy stocks fell as crude oil prices tumbled amid concerns about the outlook for energy demand after data showed a contraction in Chinese factory activity.

Investors also looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement, due on Wednesday. The U.S. central bank is widely expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended down 21.44 points or 0.1% at 20,615.10, near the day's low. The index climbed to 20,766.87 in early trades, before drifting lower as the day progressed.

Precision Drilling Corporation (PD.TO), Teck Resources (TECK.A.TO), Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO), goeasy (GSY.TO), FirstService Corporation (FSV.TO), Colliers International (CIGI.TO) and Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO) lost 1 to 2.7%.

Cargojet Inc (CJT.TO) climbed nearly 4% on strong results. The company reported a net income for $30.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2023, compared to a net loss of $56.4 million in the year-ago quarter.

Bombardier Inc (BBD.A.TO) surged nearly 4%. CCL Industries (CCL.B.TO), ATS Corporation (ATS.TO), Dollarama (DL.TO), BRP Inc (DOO.TO), Constellation Software (CSU.TO), Franco-Nevada Corporation (FNV.TO) and Kinaxis Inc (KXS.TO) climbed 1 to 2.5%.

On the economic front, data released by Markit Economics shows the S&P Global Manunfacturing PMI rose to 50.2 in April 2023, pointing to a marginal expansion in the manufacturing sector after posting a near three-year low of 48.6 in the previous month.