Canada's main stock index fell on Wednesday, with consumer shares leading losses on dour earnings results from Alimentation Couche-Tard, while risk sentiment stayed low ahead of the US Thanksgiving holiday.
At 9:48 a.m. ET, the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was down 63.48 points, or 0.3%, at 21,390.29, as consumer staples and consumer discretionary stocks shed more than 1% each.
Alimentation Couche-Tard fell 4.6%, the most on the TSX, as the convenience store operator posted second-quarter profit that declined from a year earlier and narrowly missed market expectations.
"You might be seeing a bit of profit-taking and just a general pullback in North American equity markets ahead of Thanksgiving holiday," said Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management.
Energy shares lift Toronto index, Organigram jumps
The energy sector climbed 0.8%, extending gains from the previous session, despite weaker crude prices.
Toronto-listed technology stocks fell 0.4%, tracking weakness on the tech-heavy Nasdaq index.
The benchmark equity index, which scaled record highs earlier this month lost its steam last week, hurt by weaker commodities and the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in Europe threatening to slow down global economic recovery.
The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, lost 0.4% as gold prices eased on the back of a stronger US dollar.
Highlights
The TSX posted two new 52-week highs and two new lows.
Across all Canadian issues there were seven new 52-week highs and 40 new lows, with a total volume of 35.62 million shares.
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