Canadian Stocks Give Back Ground After Seeing Initial Strength

(RTTNews) - After an initial move to the upside, Canadian stocks have come under pressure over the course of the trading session.

Currently, the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is down by 78.87 points or 0.4 percent at 20,114.46 after reaching a high of 20,293.65.

Bargain hunting may have contributed to the early strength on Bay Street, with the S&P/TSX Composite Index bouncing off its lowest closing level in over a month.

An early surge by the price of crude oil may also have generated buying interest, although oil has pulled back off its highs following the release of a report showing a much bigger than expected increase in U.S. crude oil inventories.

The report from the Energy Information Administration said crude oil inventories jumped by 7.6 million barrels in the week ended February 17th compared to economist estimates for an increase of 2.1 million barrels.

Energy stocks have given back ground along with the price of crude oil, although the S&P/TSX Capped Energy Index remains up by 1.1 percent.

Substantial strength also remains visible among healthcare stocks, with the S&P/TSX Capped Health Care Index spiking by 2.8 percent.

On the other hand, materials, technology and consumer discretionary stocks have come under pressure, contributing to the pullback by the broader markets.