TSX Ends Slightly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market ended slightly lower on Wednesday after a lackluster session as investors largely refrained from making significant moves as they looked for clarity on U.S.-China trade issues.

After a somewhat mixed start, the market moved higher, but retreated by late morning and then stayed weak till the end of the session.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which advanced to 17,006.01, gaining around 55 points in the process, touched a low of 16,915.19 later on in the session and finally closed at 16,939.61, netting a loss of 11.09 points, or 0.07%.

Materials shares closed with gains after gold prices moved up. Industrial, information technology, financial and telecommunications shares ended mixed, while energy, healthcare and consumer discretionary shares closed weak. Shares from the real estate section declined sharply.

Among the stocks in the Healthcare Index, Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO) declined 3%. Extendicare Inc. (EXE.TO) shed 2.2% and Aphria Inc. (APHA.TO) declined 1.5%. Knight Therapeutics (GUD.TO), Sienna Senior Living (SIA.TO), Cronos Group (CRON.TO) and Hexo Corp (HEXO.TO) lost 0.7 to 1.3%.

Energy stocks Enerplus Corp (ERF.TO), Shawcor (SCL.TO), Tourmaline Oil Corp (TOU.TO), Vermilion Energy (VET.TO), Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO) and ARC Resources (ARX.TO) shed 1 to 3.5%. MEG Energy Corp (MEG.TO) gained about 1.55%.

In the consumer discretionary space, BRP Inc. (DOO.TO) ended down 5.4%. Mty Food Group (MTY.TO) declined 2.4%, while Restaurant Brands International (QSR.TO), Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC.A.TO) and Sleep Country Canada Holdings (ZZZ.TO) lost 1.4 to 1.7%. Canada Goose Holdings (GOOS.TO) rallied 3.65%.

Hudsons Bay Company (HBC.TO) declined 4% after investor Ortelius Advisors LP said it will vote against the Saks Fifth Avenue owner's C$1.9 billion take-private deal because of what the hedge fund views as lapses in the sales process.

In the materials section, Silvercorp Metals Inc. (SVM.TO), Novagold (NG.TO), Hudbay Minerals Inc. (HBM.TO), Semafo (SMF.TO), Pan American Silver Corp (PAAS.TO), Oceanagold (OGC.TO), Yamana Gold Corp (YRI.TO), First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO), Alamos Gold (AGI.TO) and Ivanhoe Mines (IVN.TO) climbed 3 to 6.3%.

Torex Gold Resources (TXG.TO), Kinross Gold (K.TO), Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) and Detour Gold Corp (DGC.TO) also rose sharply.

On the economic front, data released by Statistics Canada showed Canadian industries operated at 81.7% of their production capacity in the third quarter of 2019, down from an unrevised 83.3% in the previous period and below market expectations of 82.1%.

U.S. stocks ended modestly higher thanks to a positive reaction to the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy announcement. The Fed left rates unchanged as widely expected.

The central bank maintained its assessment of the economy, reiterating that recent data indicates the labor market remains strong and that economic activity has been rising at a moderate rate.

The FOMC noted it will continue to monitor the implications of incoming information for the economic outlook, including global developments and muted inflation pressures, as it assesses the appropriate path for rates.

Stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region ended mostly higher. The major European markets closed on a positive note, while rest of the markets across Europe turned in a mixed performance.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures for January ended down $0.48, or about 0.8%, at $58.76 a barrel.

Gold futures for February ended up $6.90, or about 0.5%, at $1,475.00 an ounce.

Silver futures for March ended up $0.147 at $16.849 an ounce, while Copper futures for March settled at $2.7895 per pound, up $0.0240 from previous close.