TSX Ends Slightly Up After Lackluster Session

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks swung between gains and losses on Wednesday as investors largely seemed reluctant to make significant moves amid uncertainty about U.S.-China trade deal and the impasse over Brexit talks.

Disappointing U.S. retail sales data and the downward revision in global growth forecast by the International Monetary Fund also weighed on sentiment.

But for strong gains posted by stocks in the materials space and a firm trend exhibited by a few consumer discretionary stocks, the market would have ended in negative territory today.

Information technology shares declined. Healthcare stocks too were mostly weak, while energy, industrial and financial shares turned in a mixed performance.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a gain of 8.79 points, or 0.05%, at 16,427.18. The index touched a high of 16,445.59 and a low of 16,408.73 in the session.

Kinross Gold Corporation (K.TO), Barrick Gold Corporation (ABX.TO), Yamana Gold (YRI.TO), B2Gold Corp (BTO.TO) and First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) gained 0.9 to 1.85% on strong volumes.

First Majestic Silver (FR.TO) rallied 8.25%. Norbord (OSB.TO) gained 5.8%. Bausch Health Companies (BHC.TO), Rogers Communications (RCI.A.TO), West Fraser Timber (WFT.TO), BRP Inc. (DOO.TO), Ag Growth International (AFN.TO) and Cogeco Inc. (CGO.TO) gained 2 to 4%.

Shares of Aritzia Inc. (ATZ.TO) soared more than 16% after the company said it posted a net income of $17.9 million in the second quarter, up 18.6% compared to the year-ago quarter. Adjusted Net Income per diluted share increased by 12.5% to $0.18 from second-quarter last year, the company said.

Aphria Inc. (APHA.TO) declined 10.6% on profit taking after recent hefty gains. Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO) ended down 4.6%, while CannTrust Holdings (TRST.TO) and Hexo Corp (HEXO.TO) shed 3.85% and 3.56%, respectively.

Baytex Energy (BTE.TO) and Whitecap Resources (WCP.TO) ended lower by 2.3% and 1.6%, respectively, while Encana Corp. (ECA.TO) settled modestly lower.

Information technology stock Shopify Inc. (SHOP.TO) declined more than 6.5%. BlackBerry (BB.TO) shed about 2.5%, while Constellation Software (CSU.TO) and Photon Control (PHO.TO) both ended lower by about 1.1%.

In economic news, data released by Statistics Canada showed Canada's annual inflation rate unexpectedly held steady at 1.9% in September. Canada's inflation has now stayed at 1.9% or higher for seven consecutive months. Economists expected inflation to come in with a reading of 2.1% for September.

U.S. stocks ended modestly lower after a choppy session, as traders digested mixed economic data as well as the latest batch of earnings news. The Dow edged down 0.1%, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 shed 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively.

Asian markets moved mostly higher on Wednesday. The major European markets ended slightly weak, while the rest of the markets across Europe closed mixed.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended up $0.55, or about 1%, at $53.36 a barrel.

Gold futures for December ended up $10.50, or about 0.7%, at $1,494.00 an ounce.

Silver futures for December ended up $0.043, at $17,427 an ounce, while Copper futures for December settled at $2.5895 per pound, down $0.0245 from previous close.