TSX falls on profit-taking after bullish run

Canada's main stock index fell on Thursday, tracking Wall Street, as investors booked profits after a strong run in recent weeks that was powered by bets of more global stimulus and signs of a pickup in business activity.

At 9:53 a.m. ET (1353 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was down 20.07 points, or 0.12%, at 16,677.9.

Canada's trade deficit grew to C$2.45 billion ($1.87 billion) in July as both imports and exports continued to recover from the lifting of restrictions put in place to tackle the coronavirus, Statistics Canada said.

The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, lost 0.7% even though gold futures rose 0.1% to $1,936.1 an ounce.

The energy sector climbed 1.4% even though US crude prices were down 1.8% a barrel, while Brent crude lost 2.0%.

On the TSX, 107 issues were higher, while 112 issues declined for a 1.05-to-1 ratio to the downside, with 22.37 million shares traded.

Ballard Power Systems Inc fell 4.7%, the most on the TSX, and the second biggest decliner was First Quantum Minerals Ltd, down 4%.

The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were carrier Air Canada, which jumped 3.4% after the company said it plans to conduct a study on international travelers arriving at the Toronto Pearson International Airport, to test the effectiveness of various COVID-19 quarantine periods.

Its gains were followed by the pot producer Canopy Growth Corp, which rose 3%.

The most heavily traded shares by volume were Air Canada , Suncor Energy Inc, and Just Energy Group .

The TSX posted one new 52-week highs and no new lows.

Across all Canadian issues there were 22 new 52-week highs and one new low, with total volume of 44.42 million shares.