Canadian Market Down Sharply; Technology, Materials Stocks Tumble

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market looks headed for a weak close on Tuesday with stocks from several sectors reeling under severe selling pressure amid rising concerns about Middle East tensions and the potential impact of the conflict on interest rates and growth outlook.

Shares from technology, industrial and materials sectors are the major losers. Several stocks from utilities, financial, consumer discretionary and real estate sectors are also notably lower, while energy stocks are up thanks to higher oil prices. Consumer staples stocks are the other notable gainers.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index was down 471.38 points or 1.3% at 35,799.10 a little while ago.

The Information Technology Capped Index is down 2.7%. BlackBerry, Shopify, Docebo, Enghouse Systems and Open Text Corporation are down 4%-4.4%. Lightspeed Commerce, CGI, Constellation Software and Kinaxis are also down sharply.

The Materials Capped Index is down 2.6%. Montage Gold Corp., Ivanhoe Mines, 5N Plus, Ngex Minerals, I80 Gold Corp., Hudbay Minerals, Seabridge Gold, Aris Mining Corporation, Iamgold Corp., G Mining Ventures, Lundin Mining and Equinox Gold Corp are down 4%-7%.

Industrials stocks Finning International, Hammond Power, Toromont Industries, TFI International, Mullen Group, Bird Construction, Boyd Group Services, Russel Metals, Canadian Pacific Railway, Canadian National Railway, Richelieu Hardware, Cargojet, Cae Inc., and Ats Corporation are down 3%-7%.

Energy stocks Canadian Natural Resources, Parex Resources, Cenovus Energy, Baytex Energy, Suncor Energy, Imperial Oil, Vermilion Energy, Strathcona Resources are Arc Resources are gaining 1.4%-3.5%.

In economic news, a report from S&P Global showed Canada's Manufacturing PMI edged lower to 53.0 in August from 53.5 in July, remaining above the 50.0 no change threshold for a fifth consecutive month.