FILE PHOTO: The Art Deco facade of the original Toronto Stock Exchange building is seen on Bay Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada January 23, 2019. REUTERS/Chris Helgren
November 20, 2020
(Reuters) – Canada’s main stock index treaded water on Friday, as gains in materials stocks countered energy declines, with rising coronavirus cases globally weighing on sentiment.
* The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 1.7%, and was among the top performing sectors on the main index.
* Fortuna Silver Mines Inc, the largest percentage gainer on the TSX, jumped 4.7%, followed by SSR Mining Inc, which rose 4.3%
* On the other hand, the energy sector dropped 0.5% as U.S. crude prices were down 0.3% a barrel, while Brent crude added 0.3%. [O/R]
* Oil prices were pressured by renewed lockdowns in several countries to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
* At 9:43 a.m. ET (1443 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 5.14 points, or 0.03%, at 16,914.95.
* Locally, the nation’s retail sales grew by 1.1% in September on higher sales at general merchandise stores, Statistics Canada said.
* On the TSX, 107 issues were higher, while 110 issues declined for a 1.03-to-1 ratio to the downside, with 25.76 million shares traded.
* IT service provider Real Matters Inc fell 12.6%, the most on the TSX. The second biggest decliner was Canada Goose Holdings Inc, down 4.6%, after brokerage HSBC downgraded shares of the apparel maker.
* The most heavily traded shares by volume were Manulife Financial Corp, Sun Life Financial Inc and Bombardier Inc.
* The TSX posted one new 52-week highs and no new low.
* Across all Canadian issues there were 17 new 52-week highs and no new low, with total volume of 43.24 million shares.
(Reporting by Amal S in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel)
