TSX Extends Losses To 5th Straight Session, Ends Sharply Lower

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market tumbled on Thursday as fears about a recession due to aggressive monetary tightening by central banks to rein in inflation rendered the mood bearish.

Markets across Europe fell sharply, and the U.S. market too ended weak despite regaining a substantial portion of lost ground.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which dropped to a low of 18,169.86, ended the session with a loss of 286.13 points or 1.54% at 18,329.05, extending losses to a fifth straight session.

Financials stocks fell, weighed down by weak earnings updates from top U.S. firms JP Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley. Materials and energy stocks lost ground as commodity prices dropped.

Healthcare stocks rallied sharply. A few stocks from industrials and utilities sections also posted strong gains.

The Financials Capped Index shed 3.19%. Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO), CDN Western Bank (CWB.TO), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO), National Bank of Canada (NA.TO), Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) and Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) declined 3 to 6%.

Energy stocks Precision Drilling (PD.TO), Imperial Oil (IMO.TO), Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO), Suncor Energy (SU.TO), Enerplus Corp (ERF.TO), Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO) and Baytex Energy (BTE.TO) lost 2 to 5.2%.

In the materials section, First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) tumbled more than 8%. Methanex Corp (MX.TO), Nutrien (NTR.TO), Hudbay Minerals (HBM.TO), MAG Silver Corp (MAG.TO), Barrick Gold Corp (ABX.TO), Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO), Canfor Corp (CFP.TO) and Franco-Nevad Corp (FNV.TO) ended sharply lower.

In the healthcare section, Tilray Inc (TLRY.TO) soared more than 16%. Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO) surged 14.1%, Canopy Growth Corp (WEED.TO) climbed nearly 10%, and Cronos Group (CRON.TO) gained about 6.5%.

Among industrials section, Ritchie Bros Auctioneers (RBA.TO) climbed 11.8%. Waste Connections (WCN.TO) gained nearly 2%, while Cargojet (CJT.TO), Gfl Environmental (GFL.TO) and Thomson Reuters (TRI.TO) ended higher by 1 to 1.4%.

On the economic front, data from Statistics Canada showed manufacturing sales in Canada fell 2% month-on-month in May, after rising by an upwardly revised 2.6% in April.