It has not been the best of times for the Canadian stock market as the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index has continued to reverse some of the gains it recorded in the past month.

After shedding weight on Friday and losing marginally on Monday, the index opened lower on Tuesday, signalling what could be another day of sad tales.

Canada’s main stock index opened lower on Tuesday at 19,819.80 after closing on Monday at 19,836.10. At 09:33 a.m. ET, the index dropped further to 19,772.33, losing by 63.79 points, or 0.32 per cent.

At 10:25 a.m. ET, the downward movement of the index continued, slipping to 19,626.53., a whopping 209.59 points, or 1.06 per cent. This considerable drop resulted in seven of the index’s 11 major sectors being lower.

While the technology sector gained 0.1 per cent, the energy shrank by 3.5 per cent as oil prices fell by more than US$3 a barrel in the international market.

The materials sector, comprising precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, shed 2.1 per cent as gold futures fell 0.5 per cent to $1,728.5 an ounce, and copper prices fell 3.5 per cent to $7,875 a tonne. The financial sector dropped marginally by 0.6 per cent, while the industrials sector dipped 0.9 per cent.

By the close of the TSX, it was not surprising that Tuesday was not a good day for the index. The index lost 323.2 points, closing at 19,512.90, against its closing figure of 19,836.10 on Monday. That made it the third consecutive day the TSX had closed lower.

The top-performing stocks were Denison Mines Corp., which gained 4.3 per cent; Cameco Corp., which rose by 2.9 per cent; and Bausch Health Companies Inc., which was up by 2.6 per cent.

Conversely, the least-performing shares those of Precision Drilling Corp, which lost 7.7 per cent; Vermilion Energy Inc, which fell by 7.0 per cent; and First Quantum Minerals Ltd., which shrank by 7.0 per cent.

The energy sector suffered the most loss with a drop of 3.7 per cent, or 9.38 points, while the financials sector dipped by 1.2 per cent, or 4.25 points.

Only 43 issues gained while 194 lost.  This was worse than the performance of the TSX on Monday when 86 issues rose, 151 fell.

The Canadian dollar closed lower at 0.7692 for a U.S. dollar.

Market movers

Our investment-prone community showed more interest in the mining sector.

Royal Helium (RHC) announced a long-term agreement with a major North American space launch company for the supply of helium.

Starcore International Mines (SAM) released its updated NI 43-101 reserve and resource estimates to April 30, 2022, for its San Martin mine.

Compass Gold Corporation (CVB) provided an update on the recently completed deep bedrock drilling on four prospects on the new Moribala permit.

Capital raises for the early part of this week include Hank Payments, Nevada Exploration, GFG, and Tudor Gold.


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