TSX Snaps 5-day Winning Streak, Ends Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market ended weak on Tuesday, weighed down by falling crude oil prices, uncertainty over resumption of U.S.-China trade talks and disappointing data on Canadian manufacturing activity.

Some profit taking after five successive days of gains contributed as well to market's weakness.

Consumer discretionary and industrials shares were among the prominent losers. Energy stocks recovered well after a weak start, but still some of these ended notably lower. Financial stocks were mostly subdued.

Healthcare shares rallied sharply. Utilities had a good outing. Materials shares failed to hold early gains, while information technology and telecommunications shares ended mixed.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended down 42.84 points, or 0.26%, at 16,399.23, recovering from the day's low of 16,328.43. The index touched a high of 16,434.20 in the session.

The market remained closed on Monday for Labor Day holiday.

New Gold (NGD.TO) gained 7.4%, Kinross Gold Corp (K.TO) advanced 4.7% and Yamana Gold (YRI.TO) gained 2.3%. B2Gold Corp (BTO.TO) and Barrick Gold Corp (ABX.TO) closed with modest gains.

Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO) ended nearly 6.5% up. ARC Resources (ARX.TO) gained 2.15% and Whitecap Resources (WCP.TO) advanced 1.6%.

Among cannabis shares, Canopy Growth Corporation (WEED.TO) gained 5.7%, Hexo Corp (HEXO.TO) advanced 4.5%, Aphria Inc. (APHA.TO) gained 3.5% and Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO) gained 3.1%. Cronos Group (CRON.TO) ended higher by about 2.5%.

Green Organic Dutchman Holdings (TGOD.TO) gained nearly 4.5% after the company announced that it has obtained approval from Health Canada to expand operations into its new hybrid greenhouse located in Hamilton, Ontario.

Bausch Health Companies (BHC.TO) ended 1.4% up, while Knight Therapeutics (GUD.TO) gained 0.55%.

In the financial section, Laurentian Bank (LB.TO) declined 2.5%, Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO) ended lower by 2.3% and Manulife Financial (MFC.TO) shed 1.4%. Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO), Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO), Sun Life Financial (SLF.TO) and Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) shed 0.5 to 1%.

On the economic front, Canadian manufacturing activity dropped to a three-month low in August. The IHS Markit Canada Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' index fell to a seasonally adjusted 49.1 in the month, from a reading of 50.2 in July.

U.S. stocks declined sharply on U.S.-China trade dispute worries and data showing U.S. manufacturing activity to have contracted for the first time in three years in August.

The Dow and the Nasdaq both ended lower by 1.1%, while the S&P 500 slid 0.7%.

European markets ended mostly lower, while Asian markets turned in a mixed performance.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for October ended down $1.16, or 2.1%, at $53.94 a barrel, the lowest close since August 26.

Gold futures for December ended up $26.50, or 1.7%, at $1,555.90 an ounce, their highest settlement since April 2013.

Silver futures for December ended up $0.895, at $19.237 an ounce, while Copper futures for December settled at $2.5280 per pound, down $0.235 from previous close.