Canadian Market Recovers After Mid Morning Setback; Tech Stocks Decline Sharply

(RTTNews) - After opening marginally up and advancing a bit further, Canadian equity benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index slipped into negative territory Wednesday morning, weighed down by sharp losses in technology stocks.

Energy and communications stocks gained notable ground and helped limit the market's downside a bit.

Rising concerns about escalating geopolitical tensions weighed on sentiment.

President Donald Trump's threats to take control of Greenland have made headlines recently, while traders are also keeping an eye on political unrest in Iran and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index, which rose to 32,957.34, dropped to a low of 32,708.19, but recovered subsequently to 32,824.55, down 45.81 points or 0.14% from previous close.

The Information Technology Capped Index dropped 4.3%. Dye & Durham tanked more than 10%. Shopify fell 7.3% and Celestica Inc plunged 6.5%.

Firan Technology Group, Bitfarms, Constellation Software, Open Text Corp., Lightspeed Commerce, Kinaxis, Docebo and Descartes Systems Group also declined sharply.

Aecon Group, Cineplex, Velan Inc., Colliers International Group, goeasy, Agnico Eagle Mines, Finning International, AtkinsRealis, Magna International and Boralex were among the other major losers.

Energy stocks Cenovus Energy, Ces Energy Solutions, Canadian Natural Resources, Suncor Energy, Vermilion Energy, Tamarack Valley Energy, Imperial Oil and Baytex Energy gained 1.5 to 4%.

Communications stocks BCE Inc, Telus Corp and Cogeco Communications moved up 2.5%, 1.7% and 1.5%, respectively. Rogers Communications gained about 1.2%.

Nutrien, BRP Inc., Pet Valu Holdings, West Fraser Timber, Russel Metals, Teck Resources, Ero Copper, Cameco Corporation, Molson Coors Canada, and Wheaton Precious Metals were among the other notable gainers.