TSX Ends On Weak Note On Geopolitical Concerns

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market ended notably lower on Thursday with stocks from across several sectors falling sharply on sustained selling pressure due to worries about escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

Rising inflation and imminent interest rate hikes weighed as well.

Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine accused Kyiv government forces of using mortars to attack their territory.

NATO's secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said Russia was continuing to send troops to what is now the biggest concentration of forces in Europe since the cold war. A Russian invasion of Ukraine can happen anytime now, the White House said.

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday there was every indication Russia planned to invade Ukraine in the next few days and was preparing a pretext to justify it.

Healthcare and technology stocks were the major losers. Several stocks from financials and consumer discretionary sectors too posted sharp losses. Materials shares rose sharply, buoyed by strong bullion prices. Energy stocks turned in a mixed performance.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a loss of 207.31 points or 0.97% at 21,176.33, slightly off the day's low of 21,160.09.

The Capped Healthcare Index shed about 4%. Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO), Canopy Growth Corp (WEED.TO) and Tilray Inc (TLRY.TO) declined 6.3 to 7%. Cronos Group (CRON.TO), Well Health Technologies (WELL.TO) and Bausch Health Companies (BHC.TO) closed lower by about 4%, 3.3% and 2.5%, respectively.

In the technology section, Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) and Hut 8 Mining (HUT.TO) both tanked 11%. Nuvei Corp (NVEI.TO) shed about 10% and Lightspeed Commerce (LSPD.TO) lost 8.6%. Docebo Inc (DCBO.TO), Converge Technology Solutions (CTS.TO), Telus International (TIXT.TO), BlackBerry (BB.TO) and Kinaxis Inc (KXS.TO) shed 3 to 6%.

Consumer discretionary stocks Brp Inc (DOO.TO) and Canada Goose Holdings (GOOS.TO) lost 4.8% and 4%, respectively. Restaurant Brands International (QSR.TO), Sleep Country Canada Holdings (ZZZ.TO), Martinrea International (MRE.TO) and Gildan Activewear (GIL.TO) declined 2 to 2.5%.

Mty Food Group Inc (MTY.TO) declined 2.5%. The company reported fourth-quarter net income of $24.9 million or $1.00 per diluted share, compared to $20.1 million or $0.81 per share for the same period in the previous year.

Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC.A.TO) gained about 2.3%. The company reported fourt-quarter net income of $508.5 million or $8.34 per diluted share, up from $488.8 million or $7.97 per diluted share a year earlier.

In the financial section, Goeasy (GSY.TO), Onex Corp (ONEX.TO), Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO), National Bank of Canada (NA.TO), Manulife Financial (MFC.TO), Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO), Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) and Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) lost 1 to 4%.

Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) rallied 7.6%. K92 Mining (KNT.TO), Eldorado Gold (ELD.TO), Equinox Gold Corp (EQX.TO), Dundee Precious Metals (DPM.TO), Iamgold Corp (IMG.TO) and Yamana Gold (YRI.TO) gained 5 to 6.6%.

Barrick Gold Corp (ABX.TO), New Gold (NGD.TO), Novagold (NG.TO) and Sandstorm Gold (SSL.TO) also moved up sharply.