By Adriano Marchese
Stocks in Toronto were sharply in red territory mid-trading Thursday with the S&P/TSX Composite Index down 156.07 points. On the macroeconomic front, Canadian factory sales saw a modest recovery of 0.2% in January, thanks in part to a jump in motor vehicle sales as production resumed at some auto plants.
Sector performance was mostly trending lower, with health tech stocks losing ground significantly in the session, followed by consumer discretionary and communication stocks. On the other side, process industries, consumer durables and energy were the main of few gainers.
At midday, Canada's S&P/TSX Composite Index was 0.71% lower at 21815.08 and the blue-chip S&P/TSX 60 fell by 0.79% to 1316.56.
Lithium Americas' Toronto-listed shares were 14% higher at 8.76 Canadian dollars ($6.50) after the company said it received a preliminary commitment for $2.26 billion in financing from the U.S. Department of Energy to finance its lithium-processing facilities at Thacker Pass in Nevada. Earlier in the morning, shares reached as high as C$10.30 before paring back.
Other market movers:
Empire shares were down 0.9% to C$33.55 after reporting a rise in profit in its fiscal third quarter despite flat revenue due to lower fuel sales.
Restaurant Brands International said it has appointed Sami Siddiqui to the role of chief financial officer, succeeding Matt Dunnigan, effective immediately. Shares were down 1.7% at C$109.56.
Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
03-14-24 1217ET
