Canadian Market Roughly Flat In Cautious Trade After Paring Early Losses

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market is down marginally Wednesday afternoon with stocks turning in a mixed performance amid lingering concerns about interest rates and slowing growth.

Technology and real estate stocks are among the notable losers, while energy stocks are gaining on higher oil prices.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which dropped to 19,656.09 in early trades, is up 6.87 points or 0.03% at 19,761.01.

Among technology stocks, Docebo Inc (DCBO.TO), Lightspeed Commerce (LSPD.TO), Converge Technology Solutions (CTS.TO), Descartes Systems Group (DSG.TO), BlackBerry (BB.TO) and Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) are down 2 to 3.7%. Open Text Corporation (OTEX.TO), CGI Group Inc (GIB.A.TO) and Kinaxis Inc (KXS.TO) are also notably lower.

Northwest Healthcare Prop REIT (NWH.UN.TO), down nearly 10%, is the biggest loser in the Real Estate Index. Altus Group (AIF.TO) is down nearly 4% and Allied Properties Real Estate (AP.UN.TO) is lower by about 3%. First Capital REIT Units (FCR.UN.TO) is down 2.8%.

In the energy sector, Advantage Oil & Gas (AAV.TO), Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO), Africa Oil Corp (AOI.TO), MEG Energy (MEG.TO), Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO), Tourmaline Oil Corp (TOU.TO) and Peyto Exploration (PEY.TO) are gaining 2 to 3%.

In economic news, data from Statistics Canada said retail sales in Canada are expected to have risen by 0.5% month-over-month in May of 2023, according to preliminary estimates. In April, retail sales jumped by 1.1%, soaring past preliminary estimates of 0.2% and rebounding from the upwardly revised 1.5%.

A separate data from Statistics Canada showed new home prices in Canada advanced by a marginal 0.1% month-on-month in May 2023, after a 0.1% drop in April.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell today reiterated before the House Financial Services Committee that the central bank is likely to continue raising rates to contain inflation.

"Nearly all FOMC participants expect that it will be appropriate to raise interest rates somewhat further by the end of the year," Powell said in his testimony.

The Fed left rates unchanged last week, but the central bank's latest projections suggest it plans to resume raising rates later this year, forecasting a rate of 5.6% by the end of 2023.