TSX Ends Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market saw a bright spell in positive territory Wednesday morning thanks to strong buying in the energy section, but failed to hold early gains and ended the session on a weak note, dragged down by losses in healthcare and technology sections.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which rose to 18,789.93, ended the session with a loss of 41.51 points or 0.22% at 18,628.29.

Healthcare shares Trillium Therapeutics (TRIL.TO), Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (AUP.TO), Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO), Aphria Inc (APHA.TO), Canopy Growth Corporation (WEED.TO), Cronos Group (CRON.TO) and Bausch Health Companies (BHC.TO) lost 2.9 to 5.6%.

Among technology stocks, Lightspeed Pos (LSPD.TO), Docebo Inc (DCBO.TO), Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO), BlackBerry (BB.TO) and Photon Control (PHO.TO) lost 4.5 to 6%. Sierra Wireless (SW.TO) and Descartes Systems Group (DSG.TO) declined 3.6% and 3.2%, respectively.

Consumer staples shares Maple Leaf Foods (MFI.TO), Jamieson Wellness (JWEL.TO), The North West Company (NWC.TO), Saputo Inc (SAP.TO) and Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc (ATD.B.TO) shed 1.5 to 4%.

Energy stocks Vermilion Energy (VET.TO), MEG Energy (MEG.TO), Imperial Oil (IMO.TO), Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO), Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO), Whitecap Resources (WCP.TO), Suncor Energy (SU.TO) and Enerplus Corp (ERF.TO) gained 3.5 to 6.25%.

On the economic front, Canada's manufacturing sales fell 1% from a month earlier in February, following a 3.1% rise in the previous month, according to a flash estimate. It is the strongest decrease in manufacturing sales since last August.