Canadian Shares Down Firmly In Negative Territory At Noon

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market is down in negative territory at noon on Monday, extending losses after a weak start amid rising concerns about a surge in Covid-19 cases in China, and worries about geopolitical tensions.

China reported three persons died after contracting Covid, marking first Covid-related deaths the country's mainland reported since May.

The surge in new cases has resulted in China imposing stringent restrictions in several cities, including Beijing and Shanghai.

The mood is bearish also due to rising concerns that future attacks by Russia on Ukraine's nuclear power supply could be catastrophic

Energy stocks are down sharply. Healthcare, materials and technology stocks are the other major losers, while a few stocks from consumer staples and consumer discretionary sections are up with strong gains.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is down 180.72 points or 0.9% at 19,800.19.

The Energy Capped Index is down as much as 4.82% with all the components of the barometer recording sharp losses. Imperial Oil (IMO.TO), down 2.5%, has suffered the least, while MEG Energy (MEG.TO), Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO), Enerplus Corp (ERF.TO) and Precision Drilling Corp (PD.TO) are down 7 to 7.7%.

In the materials sector, Silvercrest Metals (SIL.TO) is down nearly 6%. Equinox Gold (EQX.TO), Torex Gold Resources (TXG.TO), Ero Copper (ERO.TO), First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO), Teck Resources (TECK.B.TO), B2Gold Corp (BTO.TO) and MAG Silver Corp (MAG.TO) are down 2 to 4%.

Bausch Health Companies (BHC.TO), down 6.1%, is the most prominent loser in the HealthCare Index. Tilray Inc (TLRY.TO) is down by about 2.7%.

Technology stock Hut 8 Mining Corp (HUT.TO) is down 8%. Nuvei Corp (NVEI.TO), Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO), BlackBerry (BB.TO) and Lightspeed Commerce (LSPD.TO) are down 2.5 to 4%.

Consumer discretionary stocks Restaurant Brands International (QSR.TO) and Dollarama Inc (DOL.TO) are up 2.6% and 1.8%, respectively.

In the consumer staples section, Primo Water Corp (PRMW.TO) is gaining 2.6% and Loblaw Co (L.TO) is up by about 1.3%.