TSX Snaps 4-day Winning Streak, Ends Marginally Down

(RTTNews) - After four successive days of gains, the Canadian market ended slightly down on Wednesday, retreating after a positive start as losses in materials and healthcare sectors offset gains in energy stocks.

Investors digested the Bank of Canada's monetary policy announcement. The Canadian central bank held its key interest rate unchanged and expressed concerns about risks to the outlook for inflation.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which climbed to 21,161.22 in early trades, ended the session with a loss of 8.81 points or 0.04% at 21,025.78, slightly off the day's low.

Citing the outlook for the economy and inflation, the Bank of Canada on Wednesday announced its widely expected decision to leave interest rates unchanged.

The Bank of Canada held its target for the overnight rate at 5%, with the bank rate at 5.25% and the deposit rate at 5%. The Canadian central bank is also continuing its policy of quantitative tightening.

The decision to leave rates unchanged comes as the Bank of Canada said its Governing Council is "still concerned about risks to the outlook for inflation, particularly the persistence in underlying inflation."

The bank expects consumer price inflation to remain close to 3% during the first half of this year before gradually easing, returning to the 2% target in 2025.

"The economy has stalled since the middle of 2023 and growth will likely remain close to zero through the first quarter of 2024," the bank said.

Among the prominent losers in the session, Quebecor Inc (QBR.A.TO) lost 6%. goeasy (GSY.TO), Cargojet (CJT.TO), Stella-Jones Inc (SJ.TO), Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO), Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM.TO) ended lower by 2 to 4.3%.

Molson Coors Canada (TPX.B.TO), Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO), RB Global (RBA.TO), Franco-Nevada Corporation (FNV.TO), Dollarama Inc (DOL.TO), Kinaxis Inc (KXS.TO) and Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) lost 1 to 2%.

Among the gainers, Precision Drilling Corporation (PD.TO) climbed 5.2%. Spin Master Corp (TOY.TO) surged 4.75%. Teck Resources (TECK.A.TO) rallied 3.5%, while CCL Industries (CCL.A.TO) advanced 2.3%.

National Bank of Canada (NA.TO), Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) and Colliers International (CIGI.TO) also ended notably higher.