TSX Ends Lower For 8th Straight Day, Sheds About 2% In Week

(RTTNews) - As worries about the outlook for interest rates, higher bond yields and geopolitical tensions continued to weigh on sentiment, it turned out to be another session out in negative territory for Canadian stocks on Friday.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended down 137.92 points or 0.73% at 18,737.39, losing for an eighth straight session. The index shed about 2% in the week.

Consumer discretionary, utilities and financials shares were the major losers. Several stocks from communications, consumer staples and healthcare sectors too closed weak. Materials shares climbed higher. Energy and industrials shares closed mixed.

Consumer discretionary stocks Magna International (MG.TO), Mty Food Group (MTY.TO), Gildan Activewear (GIL.TO) and Linamar Corp (LNR.TO) ended down 2.2 to 3.3%.

In the utilities section, Brookfield Infra Partners (BIP.UN.TO) declined 4.8%. Boralex (BLX.TO), Innergex Renewable Energy (INE.TO), Transalta Corp (TA.TO) and Northland Power (NPI.TO) ended lower by 2.5 to 2.8%.

Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO), Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO), Nuvei Corp (NVEI.TO), Brookfield Corporation (BN.TO), Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO), Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO), Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO), Manulife Financial (MFC.TO), Sun Life Financial (SLF.TO) and Laurentian Bank (LB.TO) lost 1 to 3%.

Eldorado Gold (ELD.TO), up 9.4%, was the top gainer in the Materials Index. K92 Mining Inc (KNT.TO), Iamgold Corp (IMG.TO), Dundee Precious Metals (DPM.TO), B2Gold Corp (BTO.TO, Ivanhoe Mines (IVN.TO), Stelco Holdings (STLC.TO) and Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) gained 3 to 5%.

Imperial Oil (IMO.TO) ended nearly 2% down, after reporting net income of $1,601 million in the third quarter, as against net income of $2,031 million in the year-ago quarter.

Fortis Inc (FTS.TO) ended down nearly 1%, despite reporting third-quarter net earnings of $394 million or $0.81 per share, up from $326 million or $0.68 per share in the year-ago quarter.

On the economic front, data from Statistics Canada showed wholesale sales in Canada were likely unchanged from a month earlier in September 2023, following a 2.3% rise in August, according to preliminary estimates.