TSX Retreats After Hitting New High, Snaps 4-day Winning Streak

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market hit a new all-time high Tuesday morning but pared gains and dropped into negative territory by noon, and eventually ended on a negative note, snapping a four-day winning streak.

Stocks turned subdued amid uncertainty about the size of interest-rate reduction by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, and the likely move of the Bank of Canada at its next policy meeting, after U.S. retail sales data and Canadian inflation report.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which hit a fresh high at 23,800.59, ended the day's session at 23,677.70 with a marginal loss of 24.37 points or 0.1%.

Data from Statistics Canada said the annual inflation rate in Canada decelerated for the third month to hit 2% in August 2024, the softest since February 2021, and slightly below forecasts of 2.1%.

The Canadian CPI decreased by 0.2% over a month in August 2024, compared to expectations for a flat reading, following a 0.4% rise in the prior month.

Core consumer prices in Canada increased by 1.5% in August 2024 compared to the same month in the previous year, easing from 1.7% in July.

A report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said housing starts in Canada fell by 22.3% over a month to 217,405 units in August 2024, the lowest since November 2023.

A report from the Commerce Department said retail sales in the U.S. inched up by 0.1% in August after surging by an upwardly revised 1.1% in July. The uptick surprised economists, who had expected retail sales to dip by 0.2% compared to the 1% jump originally reported for the previous month.

Losses in consumer staples and industrials stocks weighed on the market. Energy stocks turned in a fine performance as oil prices climbed higher.

Kelt Exploration (KEL.TO) and Tamarack Valley Energy (TVE.TO) gained more than 3%. Prairiesky Royalty (PSK.TO), Veren (VRN.TO), Headwater Exploration (HWX.TO), Athabasca Oil Corporation (ATH.TO) and Precision Drilling Corporation (PD.TO) gained 2.4 to 3%.

Healthcare stocks Bausch Health Companies (BHC.TO) and Tilray Inc (TLRY.TO) climbed 2.7% and 2.1%, respectively.

Consumer staples stocks Loblaw (L.TO) and George Weston (WN.TO) lost 3.2% and 2.2%, respectively. Metro Inc (MRU.TO), Saputo (SAP.TO) and Empire Company (EMP.A.TO) lost 1.2 to 2%.

Industrials shares Thomson Reuters (TRI.TO), Gfl Environmental (GFL.TO) and Waste Connections (WCN.TO) lost 2 to 2.7%. Nfi Group (NGI.TO), Cargojet (CJT.TO) and Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) also closed notably lower.