TSX Ends Sharply Lower

(RTTNews) - Save for a few minutes in the first hour, the Canadian stock market languished in negative territory on Friday due to sustained selling at several top counters from across various sectors.

Weakness on Wall Street following the release of disappointing earnings updates from Amazon Inc. and Apple Inc weighed as well on sentiment.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a loss of 359.06 points or 1.7% at 20,762.00, slightly low of the day's low of 20,753.85.

All the sectoral indices ended in negative territory. Materials and Consumer Staples indices, which shed 0.65% and 0.97%, respectively, were the ones that fared relatively better.

Industrials, technology, communications, consumer discretionary, energy and financials shares declined sharply, dragging the indices tracking their performances by 1.3 to 2.8%.

Baytex Energy (BTE.TO) tumbled nearly 8% on huge volumes. Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO), Whitecap Resources (WCP.TO), Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO), Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO), Suncor Energy (SU.TO) and Enbridge Inc (ENB.TO) lost 1.7 to 4.4%.

TC Energy Corporation (TRP.TO) ended 5.2% down. The company reported first-quarter net income of $0.4 billion or $0.36 per common share compared to a net loss of $1.1 billion or a loss of $1.11 per common share in 2021.

Toromont Industries (TIH.TO), Docebo Inc (DCBO.TO) and Nuvei Corporation (NVEI.TO) shed 6.3%, 5.8% and 5.5%, respectively. Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO), Cargojet Inc (CJT.TO), Nutrien (NTR.TO), Colliers International (CIGI.TO) and Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) drifted down 2.5 to 3.3%.

Magna International Inc. (MG.TO) reported adjusted net income of $183 million for the first quarter of the current financial year. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.28 in the quarter, compared to $1.86 a year ago. The stock drifted down more than 3%.

Imperial Oil (IMO.TO) ended nearly 1% up. The company said it posted its highest first quarter net income in over 30 years of $1,173 million with Upstream income of $782 million and Downstream income of $389 million, driven primarily by strong market conditions.

On the economic front, the Canadian economy likely expanded by 0.5% month-over-month in March of 2022, with preliminary data also suggesting annualized growth for the first quarter at about 5.6% on an annualized basis.