The market had been marching towards a third-straight daily gain after Federal Reserve comments about interest rate hikes prompted a selloff.
Wednesday's performance came as Canadian retail sales in April posted their largest drop since the start of the pandemic as governments moved to deal with its third wave.
Statistics Canada said retail sales fell 5.7 per cent to $54.8 billion in April, the largest decline since April 2020 during the pandemic's first wave.
The agency also said its preliminary estimate suggested an additional drop of 3.2 per cent for May, but cautioned the figure would be revised.
The consumer sectors on the TSX decreased with shares of Empire Company Ltd. dropping 5.6 per cent after the grocery chain reported softer sales in its latest quarter.