TSX Fails To Retain Early Gains, Ends Flat

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market started off on a buoyant note on Tuesday but retreated and fell into the red around noon, and struggled to move higher thereafter and eventually ended the session flat.

Data showing a tamer-than-expected increase in U.S. consumer prices helped ease concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

The Labor Department's report said the consumer price index crept up by 0.1% in November after climbing by 0.4% in October. Economists had expected consumer prices to rise by 0.3%.

The report also showed the annual rate of growth by consumer prices slowed to 7.1% in November from 7.7% in October.

The Federal Reserve, which is scheduled to announce its monetary policy on Wednesday, is widely expected to raise interest rate by another 50 basis points, but the slower price growth may offset recent worries about future rate hikes.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which climbed nearly 330 points in early trade to 20,341.26, ended the session with a gain of 3.76 points or 0.02% at 20,023.46. The index touched a low of 19,955.63 in the session.

Energy, materials and real estate stocks posted notable gains. Financials shares closed weak. Shares from the rest of the sectors turned in a mixed performance.

B2Gold Corp (BTO.TO) rallied 6.6% on strong volumes. Barrick Gold Corporation (ABX.TO) surged nearly 4%. Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO), Suncor Energy (SU.TO), Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO), Kinross Gold Corporation (K.TO), Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO) and Arc Resources (ARX.TO) gained 1.2 to 3%.

Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO), Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) and Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp (AQN.TO) ended notably lower.