TSX Declines For Fifth Straight Day

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market ended lower for a fifth straight session, as shares from in information technology, energy and healthcare sections tumbled on selling pressure on Thursday.

Falling crude oil prices and worries about the likely impact on the U.S.-China trade dispute on the global economy weighed on the market. Investors were also looking ahead to the outcome of the trade talks between the U.S. and Canadian government officials.

The market spent sometime in positive territory early on in the session with investors reacting to reports that the U.S. and Canada have made some progress in talks to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement. However, stocks failed to find support at higher levels due to worries about U.S.-China trade tensions.

It is widely expected that the U.S. will implement new tariffs on imports worth $200 billion from China. Meanwhile, China has reportedly warned that it will be forced to retaliate if the United States implements any new tariff measures after the end of a public comment period.

On the economic front, a report from Statistics Canada said that municipalities issued $8.2 billion worth of building permits in July. That was down 0.1% from June. The drop is reportedly due largely to lower construction intentions in British Columbia.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended lower by 36.63 points, or 0.23%, at 16,100.94, after scaling a high of 16,196.18 and a low of 16,007.40 during the session. On Wednesday, the index ended lower by 23.73 points or 0.15%, at 16,137.57.

The Capped Energy Index shed 1.88%. Encana Corporation (ECA.TO) declined by 3.6%. Suncor Energy Inc. (SU.TO), Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) and Cenovus Energy Inc. (CVE.TO) ended lower by 1.7 to 2.1%.

Surge Energy Inc. (SGY.TO) and Mount Bastion Oil and Gas Corp. have announced that they have entered into an arrangement agreement, pursuant to which Surge has agreed to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of the latter, way of a statutory arrangement. Surge Energy shares gained 2.3%.

The Capped Information Technology Index shed more than 1.5%. Shopify Inc. (SHOP.TO) ended more than 4% down. Constellation Software Inc. (CSU.TO), Open Text Corporation (OTEX.TO), BlackBerry (BB.TO), Descartes Systems Group Inc. (DSG.TO) and Kinaxis Inc. (KXS.TO) ended lower by 1 to 2.5%.

Among healthcare stocks, Aurora Cannabis Inc. (ACB.TO) declined by over 5.5% and Bausch Health Companies Inc. (BHC.TO) eased by 2.6%. Canopy Growth Corporation (WEED.TO) declined by 2.8%. Canopy Growth Corporation and Hiku Brands Company Ltd., have announced the closing of the previously announced acquisition of Hiku by Canopy Growth.

Aphria Inc. (APH.TO) jumped more than 15% after the company said it has completed divestment of all U.S. cannabis assets with sale of remaining interest in Liberty Health Sciences.

In the materials space, First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) ended 2% down.

Among bank stocks, Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO), Toronto Dominion Bank (TD.TO) and Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) ended modestly higher, while Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) and National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) ended flat.

Alimentation Couche-Tard (ATD.B.TO) gained 4.5% after the company announced net earnings of $455.6 million, or $0.81 per share, for the first quarter of fiscal 2019 compared with $364.7 million, or $0.64 per share for the first quarter of fiscal 2018.

Transcontinental Inc. shares declined by 5.4%, after the company said its third-quarter revenue soared to $757.9 million but its profit plunged by 60.6%, mostly because of the printing and media company's acquisition of Coveris Americas in May.

In news from other stock markets, stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading day on Wall Street. The Nasdaq posted another significant loss, although the Dow once again managed to close in positive territory. Investors were reacting to a slew of economic data today.

Stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region declined on Thursday, amid mounting concerns over U.S.-China trade dispute.

The major European markets also moved lower over the course of the session due to trade tensions. In commodities, crude oil futures for October delivery ended down $0.95, or 1.4%, at $67.77 a barrel, the lowest settlement in more than two weeks.

Gold futures for December ended up $3.00, or 0.25%, at $1,204.30 an ounce.

Silver futures for December settled at $14.181 an ounce, down $0.039 from previous close, while copper futures for December ended up $0.0265, at $2.6365 per pound.