By Adriano Marchese

Toronto stocks fell slightly in midday trading Wednesday as most sectors trended lower in the session. Energy was the main laggard, followed by utilities and industrial services. Of the few gainers, materials, consumer discretionary and process industries led.

On the broader economic front, labor productivity for Canadian businesses rose 0.2% for a second straight quarter, edging up in the first three months of 2025, thanks to higher productivity among goods producers.

Canada's services industry contracted in May, marking the sixth straight month of contraction as activity and new business fell on the back of tariff and economic worries.

As of May 30, the country's reserves of foreign currencies and other monetary assets totaled $125.04 billion, an increase from $124.73 billion the month before.

Canada's S&P/TSX Composite Index fell by 0.4% to 25316.59 and the blue-chip S&P/TSX 60 declined by 0.5% to 1572.70.

VersaBank's stock fell by 5.4% to 15.00 Canadian dollars ($10.93) after reporting lower profit in the latest quarter as the Canadian digital bank was squeezed by the weakening of the U.S. dollar and costs tied with its plans to shift to the U.S.

Other market movers:

Hudbay Minerals has halted its operations in Northern Manitoba after an evacuation notice was issued as wildfires continue to rage in the area. Shares were 0.6% higher at C$12.91.

Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 04, 2025 12:12 ET (16:12 GMT)

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