TSX Ends Lower Again As Russia-Ukraine War Weighs On Sentiment

(RTTNews) - After swinging between gains and losses almost right through the session, the Canadian market ended weak on Tuesday as worries about inflation and the economic impact of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war weighed on stocks.

Industrials, technology and communications stocks drifted lower. Healthcare stocks closed on a firm note. Materials stocks too fared well. Energy stocks failed to hold early gains and ended on a mixed note.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a loss of 72.37 points or 0.34% at 21,232.03, after swinging between 21,220.54 and 21,501.42.

On the economic front, data from Statistics Canada showed Canada posted a trade surplus of C$ 2.62 billion in January of 2022, compared with a downwardly revised deficit of C$ 1.58 billion in December and beating market estimates of a C$ 1.6 billion surplus. It was the widest trade surplus since September of 2008.

Exports from Canada edged down 0.2% over a month to C$ 56.6 billion in January of 2022, while imports to Canada fell by 7.4% over a month to of C$ 54 billion in January of 2022, falling the most since October last year, the data showed.

Crude oil prices rose sharply amid concerns about global oil supply after U.S. President Joe Biden announced a ban on import of Russian energy products.

Earlier, the United Kingdom announced its own restrictions on buying Russian oil imports, saying it will phase out the country's imports by the end of the year. The European Union also unveiled a plan to wean itself off of Russian fossil fuels.

Wajax Corporation (WJX.TO) tumbled 17.8%. Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) drifted down 7.6%, while West Fraser Timber (WFG.TO), Methanex Corp (MX.TO), Linamar Corporation (LNR.TO), Nutrien (NTR.TO) and TFI International (TFII.TO) ended lower by 3.7 to 5.2%.

BCE (BCE.TO), Waste Connections (WCN.TO), Cargojet (CJT.TO), Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) and Thomson Reuters (TRI.TO) also declined sharply.

Intertape Polymer Group Inc (ITP.TO) shares skyrocketed 76.2%

Nuvei Corp (NVEI.TO) soared 13.5%. Snc-Lavalin Group (SNC.TO) and Lithium Americas Corp (LAC.TO) gained 11.2% and 10%, respectively. AutoCanada (AC.TO) rallied 8%, Vermilion Energy (VET.TO) climbed 7.3% and Precision Drilling Corp (PD.TO) gained 6.7%.

Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO), Boyd Group (BYD.TO), Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO), Docebo Inc (DCBO.TO) and George Weston (WN.TO) also posted strong gains.