After an early drop and a subsequent recovery that resulted in a positive spell till the penultimate hour, the Canadian market retreated in the closing minutes of the session on Tuesday.
Amid a lack of fresh triggers, investors once again stayed reluctant to make significant moves.
The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a loss of 29.76 points or 0.14% at 21,912.52, settling lower for a third straight session. The index touched a low of 21,906.24 and a high of 22,037.66 in the session.
Energy stocks closed weak and healthcare stocks posted gains, while stocks from the rest of the sectors turned in a mixed performance.
Canada Goose Holdings (GOOS.TO) and Tecsys Inc (TCS.TO) ended lower by 6.7% and 6.4%, respectively. ATS Corporation (ATS.TO) drifted down 4.4%.
GFL Environmental Inc (GFL.TO) ended down by 2.7% and Ag Growth International (AFN.TO) settled lower by 2.4%. Dayforce (DAY.TO), goeasy (GSY.TO), Loblaw Companies (L.TO) and Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO) also ended notably lower.
Canopy Growth Corporation (WEED.TO) soared nearly 16%. Nuvei Corporation (NVEI.TO) climbed 7%. Cargojet (CJT.TO), Cogeco Communications (CCA.TO), ONEX Corporation (ONEX.TO), Morguard Corporation (MRC.TO), Stella-Jones Inc (SJ.TO), BRP Inc (DOO.TO) and Dollarama Inc (DOL.TO) gained 1.5 to 2.3%.
On the economic front, according to preliminary estimates, wholesale sales in Canada rose by 0.8% month-over-month in February, after rising 0.1% a month earlier.