TSX Retreats After Positive Start, Ends Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market failed to hold early gains and ended weak on Wednesday, with traders largely staying wary of building up positions due to global growth worries and lower crude oil prices.

Uncertainty about Brexit, U.S.-China trade talks and concerns about the impact of partial government shutdown in the U.S. continued to weigh on the market.

Consumer discretionary and information technology shares moved up, while energy and bank stocks drifted lower.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended down 25.43 points, or 0.17%, at 15,208.33. The index, which rose to 15,293.30 in early trades, declined to a low of 15,141.54 around noon.

On Tuesday, the index ended down 120.40 points, or 0.78%, at 15,233.76, snapping a 12-day winning streak.

The Capped Energy Index ended 1.24% down. Suncor Energy (SU.TO), Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) and ARC Resources (ARX.TO) ended lower by 1.4 to 2.2%. Husky Energy (HSE.TO) ended down 3% and Vermilion Energy (VET.TO) declined by more than 5%.

NextGen Energy (NXE.TO), Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO) and BayTex Energy (BTE.TO) ended sharply lower, while MEG Energy (MEG.TO) gained about 5.5%.

Among bank stocks, Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) ended 1.3% down, Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) both shed about 0.6%, and Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) edged down marginally. National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) edged up by about 0.3%.

Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) ended modestly lower. TD Bank Group announced today that it expects TD Ameritrade's first quarter earnings to translate into approximately CDN $322 million reported equity in net income of an investment in TD Ameritrade for fiscal 2019 first quarter.

The Capped Consumer Discretionary Index gained 1.95%. Restaurant Brands International Inc. (QSR.TO) shares jumped nearly 10% after the company named Burger King veteran Jose Cil as its chief executive officer.

Gildan Activewear (GIL.TO) gained nearly 1.5% and BRP Inc. (DOO.TO) advanced by 1.3%. The Stars Group (TSGI.TO) declined 2.8%.

The Capped Information Technology Index gained 1.13%. Kinaxis Inc. (KXS.TO) jumped 3.75%, Constellation Software (CSU.TO) added 3%, BlackBerry (BB.TO) ended 1.5% up, Descartes Systems Group (DSG.TO) added 1.6%, Enghouse Systems (ENGH.TO) gained 1.2% and Sierra Wireless (SW.TO) surged up nearly 2%.

Among the stocks in materials space, B2Gold Corp. (BTO.TO) added 1.35%. First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) eased by 0.7%.

On the economic front, data released by Statistics Canada showed retail sales decreased 0.9% to $50.4 billion in November due to lower sales at gasoline stations and motor vehicle and parts dealers.

U.S. stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Wednesday after failing to sustain an early move to the upside.

While the major averages all closed higher, the Dow outperformed its counterparts by a wide margin thanks to strong results from several blue chip companies, including IBM. The Dow climbed 0.7%, while the Nasdaq crept up 0.1% and the S&P 500 inched up by 0.2%.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a lackluster performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index edged down by 0.2%, while China's Shanghai Composite Index inched up by 0.1%.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the downside over the course of the session. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slumped by 0.9%, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index both dipped by 0.2%.

In commodities, crude oil futures for March ended down $0.39, or 0.7%, at $52.62 a barrel.

Gold futures for February ended up $0.60, at $1,284.00 an ounce.

Silver futures for March settled at $15.380 an ounce, up $0.055 from previous close, while Copper futures for March ended down $0.0050, at $2.6545 per pound.