After a weak start and a subsequent recovery that lifted it into positive territory for a few minutes, the Canadian stock market slipped into the red Monday morning, weighed down by losses in healthcare and technology shares.Energy stocks are up firmly in positive territory, while a few stocks from telecom and financial sectors are up with notable gains. Shares from other sectors are mostly subdued in cautious trade.Worries about growth due to the spread of the coronavirus cases in several parts across Europe and lockdown restriction in some countries appear to be weighing on sentiment.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is down 108.51 points or 0.5% at 21,446.52 a few minutes past noon.

Technology stocks Docebo Inc (DCBO.TO) and Hut 8 Mining (HUT.TO) are down 6.5% and 5.2%, respectively. Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO), Kinaxis Inc (KXS.TO), BlackBerry (BB.TO), Telus International (IXT.TO) and Nuvei Corp (NVEI.TO) are down 3.7 to 4.6%. Lightspeed Pos (LSPD.TO), Descartes Systems (DSG.TO), Alithya Group (ALYA.TO) and Absolute Software Corp (ABST.TO) are also down sharply.

In the energy section, Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO), Enerplus Corp (ERF.TO), Vermilion Energy (VET.TO), MEG Energy (MEG.TO), Whitecap Resources (WCP.TO), Suncor Energy (SU.TO), PrairieSky Royalty (PSK.TO) and Imperial Oil (IMO.TO) are gaining 1.8 to 4%.

Statistics Canada said preliminary estimates show wholesale sales in Canada likely advanced by 1.4% month-over-month in October, following a 1% rise in the previous month.