Canada’s main stock index erased early gains to trade lower on Wednesday due to weakness in healthcare and technology stocks, with hotter-than-expected domestic inflation data weighing on investor sentiment.
At 9:43 a.m. ET, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was down 21.95 points, or 0.1%, at 21,996.87.
Leading losses on the index were technology stocks, down 2.4%, while healthcare stocks fell 2.2%, with pot producers Tilray Brands, Canopy Growth, Cronos Group, Aurora Cannabis down between 3.5% and 5%.
The energy sector climbed 0.8% as oil prices rebounded, boosted by a drop in U.S. oil inventories and concerns over tighter supplies.
The financials sector gained 0.4% while the materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, lost 1.0% tracking weakness in bullion prices.
On the economic front, annual inflation rate accelerated in March to 6.7%, a full percentage point higher than in February and well above expectations, driven by widespread price pressures, Statistics Canada data showed.
“It’s obviously a significant number but I think in the context of the BoC having already signaled that they are willing to take an aggressive tact in fighting inflation, I don’t know that it changes much for the BoC,” said Andrew Kelvin, Chief Canada Strategist, TD Securities
Last week, the BoC raised its benchmark rate by half a percentage point to 1%, its biggest single hike in more than two decades, and said the economy was strong enough to handle further tightening.
Canadian home price growth accelerated again in March, with annual price gains matching the highest pace on record, index data showed.
Rogers Communications Inc gained 3.9 after the company beat analysts’ average estimate for quarterly profit, benefiting from a steady demand for its wireless and internet services, and said it was on track to close its acquisition of smaller rival Shaw in the second quarter.
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