The Canadian market reached a new peak on Monday morning but soon pulled back, remaining subdued throughout the trading day as investors exercised caution ahead of impending earnings reports and significant economic developments, such as the Bank of Canada’s monetary policy meeting scheduled for this week.
The widespread anticipation is that the Canadian central bank will cut its key policy interest rate by 50 basis points, marking the fourth consecutive reduction.
After hitting a fresh record high of 24,922.92 in the early trades, the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index closed the day with a decline of 99.21 points, or 0.4%, at 24,723.33.
Notable sectors experiencing losses included real estate, utilities, technology, and consumer staples. In contrast, stocks in the energy and materials sectors found some support as commodity prices saw an upswing.
Among individual stocks, Magna International (MG.TO), goeasy (GSY.TO), Teck Resources (TECK.A.TO), BRP Inc (DOO.TO), Cargojet (CJT.TO), and Stella-Jones (SJ.TO) saw declines ranging from 2% to 3.6%.
Meanwhile, Loblaw Companies (L.TO), Morguard Corporation (MRC.TO), TFI International (TFII.TO), West Fraser Timber (WFG.TO), Constellation Software (CSU.TO), CGI Inc (GIB.A.TO), Dollarama Inc (DOL.TO), and George Weston (WN.TO) recorded losses between 1% and 2%.
However, RB Global (RBA.TO) surged 6.6%, while Hut 8 Corp (HUT.TO) advanced nearly 6%. Brookfield Renewable Corporation (BEPC.TO) and MAG Silver Corp (MAG.TO) gained approximately 5% and 4.7%, respectively.
Restaurant Brands International (QSR.TO), Seabridge Gold (SEA.TO), Bombardier Inc (BBD.B.TO), AtkinsRealis Group (ATRL.TO), and Ag Growth International (AFN.TO) were also among the session's significant gainers.
