TSX Follows Commodities Lower -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks were continued to drift lower Wednesday amid lingering weakness in the tech sector.

Falling crude oil prices also had Bay Street in an anxious mood ahead of the Easter Break.

On Wall Street, falling shares of Facebook, Tesla, Apple and Amazon have generate significant risk aversion in the broader market.

The TSX Composite Index dropped 46.24 points to 15,169.94.

WTI light sweet oil was down 95 cents at $64.30 a barrel.

OPEC and Russia are considering a plan to extend their supply quotas beyond 2018 and up to the middle of next year, according to Bloomberg citing Iraq's Oil Minister Jabbar al-Luaibi.

Gold prices also fell sharply today, easing from a recent 5-week high.

Barrick Gold founder P. Munk has passed away at the age of 90.

Hudson's Bay (HBC.TO) turned in another disappointing quarterly result. The company said it is "not pleased" with its recent performance. Shares rose 1.5 percent, however.

BlackBerry (BB.TO) shares inched lower on pessimism about the tech sector despite upbeat quarterly results for the smartphone maker.

In economic news, Canada's average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were C$996 in January, little changed from the previous month. Earnings were up 3.2% compared with January 2017, largely the result of gains in the second half of 2017.