Canadian Stocks Closed Little Changed After Recovery - Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market steadily declined during the first hour of trade Tuesday, before staging a recovery. The market briefly crossed into positive territory early in the afternoon before slipping back into the red, where it remained for the rest of the session.

The strong performance of the gold stocks helped the market to avoid a larger loss. Gold prices climbed above $1275 an ounce as investors turned more defensive amidst rising geopolitical concerns.

Meanwhile, healthcare stocks were among the weakest performers on Bay Street today. Energy stocks and the heavyweight financial sector also finished in the red.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index finished down by 3.68 points or 0.02 percent Tuesday at 15,727.11. The index scaled an intraday high of 15,738.31 and a low of 15,604.10.

On Monday, the index closed up 63.66 points or 0.41 percent, at 15,730.79.

The Capped Healthcare Index is dropped by 1.81 percent percent. The Energy Index fell 0.31 percent and the heavyweight Financial Index decreased by 0.43 percent.

The Gold Index climbed 2.67 percent and the Capped Materials Index is also gained 1.68 percent.

Bombardier (BBD-B.TO) increased 6.76 percent. The company disclosed in a regulatory filing that it confirmed plans to roll back Executive Chairman Pierre Beaudoin's 2016 compensation and defer payouts for managers including Chief Executive Officer Alain Bellemare, deciding against additional measures to appease angry taxpayers over raises that followed $1 billion in public aid.

SNC-Lavalin Group (SNC.TO) fell 0.29 percent. The company was awarded a US$35 million turnkey engineering, procurement and construction contract by Colombian company TGI.