TSX Down Nearly 1% Despite Coming Off Early Lows

(RTTNews) - Despite staging a fairly strong recovery after an early setback, the Canadian market remains firmly down in negative territory a little past noon on Wednesday, with stocks from energy, technology and healthcare sectors reeling under selling pressure.

Disappointing Canadian and U.S. GDP data, and Trump administration's policy uncertainty are weighing on sentiment.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index was down 242.40 or 0.97% at 24,632.08 about a quarter past noon. The index had tumbled to 24,503.55 in early trades.

The Canadian GDP increased by 0.1% from the previous month in March, according to preliminary estimates. Final data showed Canadian GDP contracted by 0.2% in February from a month earlier, offsetting January's 0.4% increase.Data from the Commerce Department showed real gross domestic product in U.S. fell by 0.3% in the first quarter after surging by 2.4% in the fourth quarter of 2024. Economists had expected GDP to rise by 0.4%.

The Energy Capped Index is down nearly 3%. Vermilion Energy, International Petroleum Corp., Birchcliff Energy, Baytex Energy, Precision Drilling Corporation, Whitecap Resources, Imperial Oil, Canadian Natural Resources, Parex Resources and Cenovus Energy are down 3 to 6%.

In the technology sector, Shopify Inc. is down more than 4% and Celestica Inc is down 3.1%. Lightspeed Commerce, Sangoma Technologies, Constellation Software, Coveo Solutions, Descartes Systems Group and Open Text Corporation are down 1 to 2%.

CGI Group Inc. shares are down 1.4%. The tech firm reported adjusted net earnings of $480.7 million for fiscal 2025 second-quarter, up 4.6% year-over-year, for a margin of 11.9%.

Healthcare stock Baush Health Companies ended 4.2% down. Tilray closed lower by 3%.

Consumer staples stock Loblaw Companies is down 0.4%. The company reported adjusted net earnings of $570 million for first-quarter of 2025, an increase of $33 million, or 6.1%, compared to the year-ago quarter.