OTTAWA: Canada stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the IT, Materials and Financials sectors led shares higher. At the close in Toronto, the S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.15%. The best performers of the session on the S&P/TSX Composite were Shopify Inc (TO:SHOP), which rose 4.32% or 4.750 points to trade at 114.760 at the close. Meanwhile, Enercare Inc (TO:ECI) added 3.63% or 0.72 points to end at 20.53 and Element Fleet Management Corp (TO:EFN) was up 3.56% or 0.32 points to 9.32 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were MEG Energy Corp (TO:MEG), which fell 7.87% or 0.30 points to trade at 3.51 at the close. Baytex Energy Corp (TO:BTE) declined 7.51% or 0.23 points to end at 2.90 and Precision Drilling Corporation (TO:PD) was down 7.29% or 0.32 points to 4.07. Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Toronto Stock Exchange by 589 to 506 and 134 ended unchanged. Shares in MEG Energy Corp (TO:MEG) fell to all time lows; losing 7.87% or 0.30 to 3.51. Shares in Baytex Energy Corp (TO:BTE) fell to 52-week lows; falling 7.51% or 0.23 to 2.90. Shares in Precision Drilling Corporation (TO:PD) fell to 52-week lows; falling 7.29% or 0.32 to 4.07.
The S&P/TSX 60 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/TSX Composite options, was down 6.21% to 13.29. Gold Futures for August delivery was up 0.52% or 6.36 to $1225.56 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in August fell 4.29% or 2.02 to hit $45.05 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract fell 3.79% or 1.88 to trade at $47.73 a barrel. CAD/USD was down 0.25% to 0.7711, while CAD/EUR fell 0.23% to 0.6797. The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.02% at 96.01.