The Canadian stock market concluded Tuesday's trading session on a subdued note, primarily impacted by declines in the healthcare and technology sectors. Additionally, stocks within the energy and real estate sectors faced challenges.
Investor sentiment remained cautious as attention turned towards key economic indicators, with the Bank of Canada's interest rate decision and U.S. consumer price inflation data set for release on Wednesday.
Market expectations suggest the Canadian central bank is likely to implement a 50 basis points rate cut.
Throughout the trading session, the S&P/TSX Composite Index stayed in negative territory, ultimately closing with a loss of 121.09 points, or a decrease of 0.47%, to settle at 25,504.33.
In the healthcare sector, stocks such as Tilray Inc (TLRY.TO) and Bausch Health Companies (BHC.TO) experienced declines of 2.7% and 1.5%, respectively.
Within the technology sector, shares of Bitfarms (BITF.TO) and BlackBerry (BB.TO) dropped by 5.9% and 4.3%, respectively. Enghouse Systems (ENGH.TO) fell by 3.4%, while Celestica Inc (CLS.TO) and Coveo Solutions (CVO.TO) saw decreases of 2.7% and 2.2%, respectively. Other notable technology companies, including Lightspeed Commerce (LSPD.TO), Constellation Software (CSU.TO), and Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO), also closed significantly lower.
Energy sector losses were led by Freehold Royalties (FRU.TO), Vermilion Energy (VET.TO), Topaz Energy (TPZ.TO), Prairiesky Royalty (PSK.TO), International Petroleum Corp (IPCO.TO), and Baytex Energy (BTE.TO), all experiencing substantial declines.
On a more positive note, SSR Mining (SSRM.TO) saw a nearly 6% increase. Bausch + Lomb Corporation (BLCO.TO), TerraVest Industries (TVK.TO), Docebo Inc (DCBO.TO), Sprott Inc (SII.TO), Tecsys Inc (TCS.TO), and Dollarama Inc (DOL.TO) recorded gains ranging from 1.5% to 3%.
