(fxcue news) - The Canadian market hit a new record high in early trades on Monday, but soon slipped and fell into negative territory and stayed weak right till the end of the session as investors stayed cautious, looking ahead to the Bank of Canada's policy announcement and a slew of crucial economic data from the U.S. The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which posted a new high at 25,843.20 early on in the session, closed down 66.38 points or 0.26% at 25,625.42. Utilities, technology, industrials and communications shares closed weak. Materials shares climbed higher on firm metal prices. Healthcare and consumer discretionary stocs were among the other notable gainers. Ssr Mining Inc (SSRM.TO), up 12.1%, was the top gainer in the Materials Capped Index. Fortuna Silver Mines (FVI.TO), Silvercrest Metals (SIL.TO), Orla Mining (OLA.TO), First Majestic Silver Corp (AG.TO), Torex Gold Resources (TXG.TO), Pan American Silver Corp (PAAS.TO), Eldorado Gold (ELD.TO), Ero Copper (ERO.TO), Hudbay Minerals (HBM.TO), Capstone Mining (CS.TO), Teck Resources (TECK.B.TO) and MAG Silver Corp (MAG.TO) gained 4 to 8%. Healthcare stocks Bausch Health Companies (BHC.TO) and Tilray Inc (TLRY.TO) climbed 3.8% and 2.75%, respectively. In the consumer discretionary sector, Brp Inc (DOO.TO) rallied about 4.2%. Mty Food Group (MTY.TO) and Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC.A.TO) gained 2.3% and 2.1%, respectively. Restaurant Brands International (QSR.TO), Linamar Corp (LNR.TO) and Magna International (MG.TO) also posted strong gains. Ballard Power Systems (BLDP.TO) gained about 5.3% after the company announced that it has signed a signed a multi-year supply agreement with Stadler U.S., to supply 8 megawatts of fuel cell engines to power trains for the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). VersaBank (VBNK.TO) tanked 11.4% after announcing net income of $5.52 million for the quarter ended October 31, 2024, compared to net income of $124.8 million the corresponding quarter last year. Molson Coors Canada (TPX.A.TO) tumbled 11.4%. Hut 8 Corp (HUT.TO) plunged nearly 10%. Capital Power Corporation (CPX.TO), Cameco Corporation (CCO.TO), Celestica Inc (CLS.TO), AtkinsRealis (ATRL.TO), Cogeco Communications (CCA.TO), Cogeco Inc (CGO.TO), CCL Industries (CCL.A.TO), Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO), Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO), WSP Global (WSP.TO) and Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO) also posted strong gains.