The Toronto Stock Exchange is down 185 points at midday with most sectors in the red.
The biggest decliners are the technology and materials sectors, both down 2.8%, while energy and utilities, up 1.9% and 0.9%, are the best performers. Shopify (SHOP.TO) which late on Tuesday said t it is upping its share buyback program by US$3 billion, is down 2.5%.
On the economics front, home sales jumped in Canada's largest real estate market last month, BNN noted. Sales in Toronto rose by the most in 10 months as lower prices began to lure back buyers. Sales rose by 10% in May from April, the biggest month-to-month increase since last July. But the seasonally adjusted benchmark price of a home dipped 0.2% from the previous month. Housing markets across Canada have been slumping, with prices falling 20% on average since 2022, it also noted.
Statistics Canada reported that labor productivity fell 0.5% in the first quarter, led by goods-producing sectors (-1.7%). Services edged up 0.3%. Hours worked rose 0.4% even as output contracted, pushing unit labour costs +1.4% (the fourth straight quarterly increase), the agency said.
In stocks, Canadian telecom stocks under CIBC coverage returned an average of 8% in May, outperforming the TSX (+2%). Quebecor (QBR-B.TO) led the group, returning 17% in May after reporting its second consecutive quarter of ARPU growth, with wireless service revenue growth of 9% vs. 22 bps growth at the Big 3 on average. The remaining telecom companies generated low- to high-single-digit returns as the group exited Q1 earnings, CIBC said.