TSX Ends Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market ended modestly lower on Monday, weighed down by losses in utilities and technology sectors. Several stocks from healthcare, consumer discretionary and materials sectors also closed weak.

Escalating Middle East tensions hurt sentiment. With a slew of crucial data, including Canada's unemployment report and U.S. consumer price inflation report, due later in the week, the mood remained cautious.

Israeli defense forces intensified air strikes targeting Gaza and the Lebanese capital of Beirut simultaneously on the first anniversary of Hamas' cross-border attack in Israel, which triggered the Middle East war.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended down 60.12 points or 0.25% at 24,102.71 after scaling a low of 23,988.17 and a high of 24,173.06 intraday.

Energy stocks had another good session, as oil prices rose sharply on rising tensions in the Middle East. Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) climbed 3.3% after the company agreed to acquire of Chevron's (CVX) Alberta assets for US$6.5 billion (near C$8.775 billion).

Imperial Oil (IMO.TO), Athabasca Oil Corp (ATH.TO), International Petroleum Corp (IPCO.TO), Parex Resources (PXT.TO), Whitecap Resources (WCP.TO), Advantage Oil & Gas (AAV.TO) and Baytex Energy (BTE.TO) gained 2 to 3%.

Technology stocks Bitfarms (BITF.TO) and Sylogist (SYZ.TO) dropped 5.5% and 3.1%, respectively. Enghouse Systems (ENGH.TO), Quarterhill (QTRH.TO), Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO), BlackBerry (BB.TO), Descartes Systems Group (DSG.TO) and Lightspeed Commerce (LSPD.TO) lost 1 to 3%.

In the utilities sector, Emera Incorporated (EMA.TO) ended nearly 5% down. Brookfield Renewable Energy (BEP.UN.TO) and Innergex Renewable Energy (INE.TO) lost 2.7% and 2.6%, respectively. Hydro One (H.TO), Northland Power (NPI.TO) and Transalta Corp (TA.TO) were among the other notable losers.

According to reports, Israeli defense forces intensified air strikes targeting Gaza and the Lebanese capital of Beirut simultaneously on the first anniversary of Hamas' cross-border attack in Israel, which triggered the Middle East war.

Dozens were killed in air strikes on a mosque and a now defunct school, which were converted as refugee relief shelters Sunday, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry. The Israeli military says Hamas militants were hiding there.