Stocks in Toronto Fall on Lower Consumer Confidence Results

By Adriano Marchese

Stocks in Toronto were in the red at midday on Tuesday, following the trend of U.S. indexes, as lower-than-expected consumer confidence results for September put pressure on the market.

Index Performance

The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 1% to 19603.29, while the blue-chip S&P/TSX 60 was down 0.97% to 1175.86.

Sector Performance

The decline in shares was primarily led by the consumer durables, transportation, and health services sectors. However, both health technology and energy minerals showed gains.

Manufacturing Sector Sales Estimate

According to Statistics Canada, an early estimate suggests that sales in the manufacturing sector may have risen by 1% in August.

Theratechnologies Shares Drop

Theratechnologies shares dropped 8.5% to 2.57 Canadian dollars ($1.91). The biopharmaceutical company expressed doubts about its ability to continue as a going concern and narrowed its revenue target for the fiscal year.

Other Market Movers

• Fission Uranium: Shares fell 4.3% to C$0.89 after announcing plans to raise C$8 million through a bought deal financing for exploration operations.
• K92 Mining: Shares were up 2.2% to C$5.94 following the news that it had secured a $100 million loan from commodities trader Trafigura. The company also made amendments to a deal for the copper and gold concentrates produced at its Kainantu mine in Papua New Guinea.