By Fergal Smith
(Reuters) – Canada’s main stock index extended its pullback from a record high on Wednesday, as profit-taking in most sectors of the market offset gains for financials after stronger-than-expected earnings for two of Canada’s major banks.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index ended down 132.98 points, or 0.6%, at 23,126.98, its second straight day of declines after notching an all-time high on Monday.
Wall Street also lost ground, ahead of Nvidia’s quarterly report after the closing bell.
“We had a great run so today’s market declines on the TSX, but also south of the border, can largely be attributed to profit taking,” said Elvis Picardo, a portfolio manager at Luft Financial, iA Private Wealth.
The technology sector lost 1.6%, with shares of software firm Kinaxis tumbling 14.5% after the company said its CEO will retire from his role.
The materials group, which includes metal miners and fertilizer companies, was down 2.1% as gold and copper prices fell.
The price of oil also dropped, settling 1.3% lower at $74.52 a barrel, which weighed on energy.
“Here in Canada … we’ve got our own little side show in terms of bank earnings,” Picardo said. “Investors have become more discerning in terms of how they reward or punish companies depending on whether they beat or miss earnings expectations.”
Royal Bank of Canada shares rose 2.2% to notch a record high after the bank surpassed quarterly profit estimates. Smaller peer National Bank of Canada also reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings. Its shares jumped 5.9%.
In contrast, Bank of Montreal reported lower-than-expected profit on Tuesday and Toronto-Dominion Bank last week reported its first loss in over two decades.
TD Bank’s efforts to resolve gaps in its anti-money laundering controls by the end of the year will likely clear the path for a new CEO, possibly an external candidate, according to a straw poll of shareholders and analysts.
(Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto and Nikhil Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore and Bill Berkrot)
