Canada stocks lower at close of trade; S&P/TSX Composite down 0.60%

Canadian equities finished Wednesday's trading session lower, with losses concentrated in the information technology, clean technology and industrials sectors.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed in Toronto down 0.60%.

Among the session's best performers on the S&P/TSX Composite were North West Company Inc (TSX:NWC), which gained 7.84% or 3.85 points to end at 52.95. Lithium Americas Corp (TSX:LAC) advanced 6.52% or 0.27 points to close at 4.41, while Southern Cross Gold Consolidated Ltd (TSX:SXGC) climbed 3.75% or 0.44 points to 12.17 in late trading.

The weakest performers included Shopify Inc (TSX:SHOP), which lost 5.35% or 9.90 points to settle at 175.13. Bird Construction Inc. (TSX:BDT) dropped 4.61% or 3.38 points to end at 69.90, and MDA Ltd (TSX:MDA) declined 4.30% or 1.79 points to finish at 39.84.

On the Toronto Stock Exchange, declining issues outpaced advancing ones by 565 to 418, while 64 stocks closed unchanged.

The S&P/TSX 60 VIX, which reflects implied volatility of S&P/TSX Composite options, increased 2.66% to 14.68.

Gold futures for December delivery rose 0.04% or $1.95 to $4,440.95 per troy ounce. In commodities trading, crude oil for October delivery climbed 3.94% or $3.67 to $96.70 a barrel, while the November Brent contract gained 3.77% or $3.69 to trade at $101.61 a barrel.

CAD/USD settled at 0.72 after a 0.19% change, while CAD/EUR was at 0.62 after a 0.24% change.

The U.S. Dollar Index futures were up 0.02% at 98.80.