Canada’s benchmark stock index was under pressure Wednesday as materials, financial and tech equities weighed.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 88.52 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 20,181.44.

Shopify Inc., TC Energy Corp. and Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. were among the stocks that took the most points off the index.

In an interview with Bloomberg Television, OPEC Secretary-General Haitham Al-Ghais said there’s a strong chance global oil markets could face a supply squeeze this year amid resilient demand and dwindling production capacity.

Benchmark West Texas Intermediate settled 1.38 per cent higher at US$87.72 per barrel.

“I don’t think the (oil) run is over,” David McAlvany, the chief executive officer of McAlvany Financial Companies, said in a TV interview on Wednesday.

“I think a resurgence of inflation is what we’ll see in the coming months. A fade, and a surge again, will put oil back on investors list of assets to own. But in the meantime we are seeing pressure,” he added. 

South of the border, markets finished in the red. The S&P 500 slid 0.74 per cent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.50 per cent and the Nasdaq declined 1.25 per cent.

Shares of Target Corp. dropped 2.61 per cent to US$175.49 on Wednesday after the company reported second-quarter results that fell short of expectations as profit sank 89 per cent.

The Canadian dollar finished at 77.49 cents U.S., down 0.46 per cent.