TSX ends 3% lower as tech and energy shares slide

By Fergal Smith

(Reuters) - Canada's main stock index gave back much of the previous day's sharp gains on Thursday as concern grew that the global trade war could derail economic growth, with energy and highflying technology stocks among the biggest decliners.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended down 712.16 points, or 3%, at 23,014.87, after posting on Wednesday its biggest advance since shortly after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wall Street stocks also tumbled. The escalating U.S.-China face-off over tariffs dampened optimism over upbeat economic data and U.S.-Europe trade negotiations.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he would convene a meeting of top cabinet colleagues on Friday to discuss the economic threat posed by U.S. tariffs.

The Toronto market's technology sector fell 6.1%, with e-commerce company Shopify Inc down 8.4% and Constellation Software Inc ending 6.4% lower.

"The stocks were priced for perfection and suddenly you get the tariffs in there and the highfliers are the ones that come down the most," said Lorne Steinberg, president, Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc.

Energy tumbled 6.6% as the price of oil settled 3.7% lower at $60.07 a barrel, while heavily weighted financials lost 3.7%.

The consumer staples sector posted a more modest decline of 0.5%. It was helped by a gain of nearly 1% for the shares of grocery retailer Loblaw Companies Ltd.

Grocery stores could benefit from the inflation that tariffs tend to generate so long as they can sustain the same percentage profit margin on their goods, Steinberg said.

The materials group, which includes metal mining shares, was the only one of 10 major sectors to end higher.

It was up 1.3% as copper prices climbed and gold, benefiting from safe-haven demand, surged to a record high.

(Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto and Sanchayaita Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Richard Chang)

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