TSX Ends Slightly Weak

(RTTNews) - Despite coming back fairly strongly in afternoon trades, the Canadian stock market ended slightly weak on Wednesday, extending its losing streak to a third session.

Losses in materials section offset gains in the technology space. Stocks from other sectors turned in a mixed performance.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended down 14.04 points, or 0.08%, at 16,784.29, off the day's low of 16,725.79.

On Tuesday, the index ended down 68.87 points, or 0.41%, at 16,798.33, after declining to a low of 16,772.37 intraday.

The Capped Materials Index tumbled 2.22%. Eldorado Gold (ELD.TO) declined more than 8%, MAG Silver Corp (MAG.TO) ended down 6%, Kinross Gold (K.TO), Yamana Gold (YRI.TO), Alamos Gold (AGI.TO), Torex Gold Resources (TXG.TO), Iamgold (IMG.TO), B2Gold Corp (BTO.TO), Kirkland Lake Gold (KL.TO), Barrick Gold Corp (ABX.TO) and Novagold (NG.TO) lost 3 to 5.2%.

The Capped Information Technology Index ended up 1.78%. Shopify Inc. (SHOP.TO) ended nearly 7% up. Exfo Inc. (EXF.TO), Celestica Inc. (CLS.TO) and Sierra Wireless (SW.TO) gained 1.4 to 1.6%.

BlackBerry (BB.TO) declined more than 4%, extending recent losses on weak results.

Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO), ARC Resources (ARX.TO) and Encana Corporation (ECA.TO) closed notably lower.

Baytex Energy (BTE.TO), Vermilion Energy (VET.TO), National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) and Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) closed on a positive note.

U.S. stocks ended firmly in positive territory after initially showing a lack of direction. Positive reaction to the release of the transcript of Donald Trump's controversial call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and stronger than expected new home sales data contributed to the firm close on Wall Street.

The Dow and the S&P 500, both ended 0.6% up, while the Nasdaq gained 1.1%.

The transcript confirms Trump discussed a possible investigation of former Vice President and Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden in the call with Zelensky, although he does not directly link the issue to U.S. aid.

Stock markets in Europe and across the Asia-Pacific region ended lower on growth worries and political uncertainty.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures for November ended down $0.80, or 1.4%, at $56.49 a barrel.

Gold futures for December ended down $27.90, or about 1.8%, at $1,512.30 an ounce, recording their biggest single-day losses in about three weeks.

Silver futures for December ended down $0.555, at $18.073 an ounce, while Copper futures for December settled at $2.6120 per pound, gaining $0.0055 for the session.