TSX Sheds Nearly 1% On Growth Worries, U.S.-China Tensions

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market ended notably lower on Tuesday, led by sharp losses in materials and energy sectors. There were gains for technology and healthcare stocks, but the market remained in negative territory right through the day's session.

Worries about slowing global growth, and tensions between the U.S. and China due to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip to Taiwan weighed on the market.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a loss of 187.59 points or 0.95% at 19,505.33, near the day's low of 19,486.68.

In addition to tracking global cues, investors also reacted to a slew of earnings announcements and other corporate news from Canadian companies.

The Materials Capped Index drifted down 2.31%. First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) ended 8.25% down. Hudbay Minerals (HBM.TO), Capstone Mining Corp (CS.TO) and Lundin Mining (LUN.TO) lost 7 to 7.7%.

Ero Copper (ERO.TO) ended 7.2% down after reporting second-quarter net income of $24.1 million, compared to $84.0 million in the year-ago quarter.

The Energy Capped Index dropped 1.99%. Baytex Energy (BTE.TO), Paramount Resources (POU.TO), Imperial Oil (IMO.TO), PrairieSky Royalty (PSK.TO) and Tourmaline Oil Corp (TOU.TO) ended lower by 3.5 to 5.1%.

Technology stock Sierra Wireless (SW.TO) soared nearly 14%. The company confirmed that it has engaged in advanced talks for a potential acquisition by Semtech Corporation (SMTC), a semiconductor supplier, for $31 per share.

Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) climbed about 9%. Lightspeed Commerce (LSPD.TO) surged 5.82%, while Alithya Corp (ALYA.TO), Nuvei Corp (NVEI.TO), BlackBerry (BB.TO) and Hut 8 Mining (HUT.TO) advanced 3 to 4.2%.

In the healthcare section, Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO) rallied nearly 10%. Canopy Growth Corp (WEED.TO) climbed 8.85%, Tilray Inc (TLRY.TO) surged nearly 7% and Cronos Group (CRON.TO) closed with a gain of 4.7%.

Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) announced Tuesday its definitive agreement to acquire investment bank Cowen Inc. (COWN) in an all-cash transaction valued at $1.3 billion, or $39 for each share of Cowen stock. Toronto-Dominion Bank shares ended 0.41% down.

Air Canada (AC.TO) reported a net loss of $386 million or $1.60 per diluted share for the second quarter compared to a net loss of $1.165 billion or $3.31 per diluted share in the second quarter of 2021. The stock gained about 0.8%.

Sprott Inc. (SII.TO) shares declined more than 2.5% on weak results. The company reported net income of $0.8 million ($0.03 per share) for the second quarter, down 93%, or $10.3 million ($0.41 per share) from the quarter ended June 30, 2021.

On the Canadian economic front, Markit Economics released a report showing the S&P Global Canada Manufacturing PMI fell to 52.5 in July of 2022 from 54.6 in the previous month, marking the slowest growth rate in the sector since June of 2020.