TSX Snap 4-day Winning Streak, Ends Notably Lower

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market ended notably lower on Friday, snapping a 4-day winning streak, as worries about the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak offset fairly upbeat Canadian and U.S. jobs data and rendered the mood bearish.

Shares from healthcare, energy and materials sections posted sharp losses. Industrial and consumer discretionary shares too ended mostly lower. Financial, consumer staples and information technology stocks turned in a mixed performance.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which was down in negative territory right through the session, ended down 102 points, or 0.57%, at 17,655.49, off the day's low of 17,632.99.

On Thursday, the index ended with a gain of 105.90 points, or 0.6%, at 17,757.49, a record closing high.

The TSX gained nearly 2% in the week.

The Capped Healthcare Index declined as much as 4.85%. Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO) closed lower by about 15.4%. Canopy Growth Corporation (WEED.TO) lost 7.2%, while Hexo Corp (HEXO.TO) and Aphria Inc. (APHA.TO) both ended lower by about 4%.

Bausch Health Companies (BHC.TO), Cronos Group (CRON.TO) and Knight Therapeutics (GUD.TO) lost 2.7%, 2.2% and 1.3%. respectively.

In the energy section, MEG Energy Corp (MEG.TO), Baytex Energy (BTE.TO), PrairieSky Royalty (PSK.TO), Husky Energy (HSE.TO), Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO), Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO), Vermilion Energy (VET.TO) and Suncor Energy (SU.TO) lost 2 to 5%.

ARC Resources (ARX.TO) declined 2.4%. ARC reported net loss of C$10.2 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2019, compared to net income of $159.7 million in the year-ago quarter. The company posted a loss of $0.03 per share in the latest quarter, as against an income of $0.45 a year ago.

Among the losers in the materials section, Hudbay Minerals (HBM.TO), Lundin Mining (LUN.TO), First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO), Kirkland Lake Gold (KL.TO), Methanex Corp (MX.TO), Alacer Gold (ASR.TO), Yamana Gold (YRI.TO), Teck Resources (TECK.B.TO), Kinross Gold Corp (K.TO), Detour Gold (DGC.TO) and Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) ended lower by 2 to 6.5%.

Canada Goose Holdings (GOOS.TO) ended more than 4% down after the company lowered its revenue guidance for the year.

Lightspeed POS (LSPD.TO), Linamar Corporation (LNR.TO), Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO), Canadian Pacific Railway (CP.TO) and Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO) were among the other prominent losers.

Semafo (SMF.TO) and Bombardier Inc. (BBD.B.TO) gained about 3% and 2.8%, respectively, on strong volumes.

CAE Inc. (CAE.TO), West Fraser Timber (WFT.TO) and BRP Inc. (DOO.TO) gained 3.4%, 2.5% and 2.1%, respectively.

Cogeco Communications (CCA.TO), Restaurant Brands International (QSR.TO) and Shopify Inc. (SHOP.TO) also ended with strong gains.

According to the data released by Statistics Canada, full-time employment in Canada increased by 35,700 jobs in January 2020, nearly two times the expected rise. In December, the economy had added 33,900 jobs. Part-time employment in the country was down by 1,200 in January, after a drop of 6,500 jobs a month earlier.

The unemployment rate in Canada fell to 5.5% in January 2020, from 5.6% in the previous month, and below market expectations of 5.6%.

U.S. stocks ended notably lower, after having moved sharply higher over the course of the last several sessions.

The Dow tumbled 0.9%, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 both slid 0.5%.

Concerns about the coronavirus offset data showing stronger than expected job growth in the month of January, and rendered the mood bearish.

Most of the markets across Europe closed weak, while Asian markets turned in a mixed performance.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for March ended down $0.63, or about 1.2%, at $50.32 a barrel.

Gold futures for April ended up $3.40, or about 0.2%, at $1,573.40 an ounce.

Silver futures for March ended down $0.126 at $17.692 an ounce, while Copper futures for March settled at $2.5530 per pound, down $0.0400 from previous close.