Canadian Stocks Climb Off Worst Levels But Close Mostly Lower

(RTTNews) - After ending the previous session modestly lower, Canadian stocks saw some further downside during trading on Friday.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index regained ground after an early slump but still closed down 91.75 points or 0.4 percent at 24,968.49.

The weakness on Bay Street came amid ongoing concerns about the economic outlook along with rising geopolitical tensions and uncertainty about the impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Negative sentiment may also have been generated in reaction to a report from Statistics Canada showing Canadian retail sales fell by 0.6 percent in January, led by decreases at motor vehicle and parts dealers.

Statistics Canada said core retail sales, which exclude gasoline stations and fuel vendors and motor vehicle and parts dealers, dipped by 0.2 percent in January.

Telecom stocks showed a significant move to the downside on the day, dragging the S&P/TSX Telecom Index down by 1.9 percent.

Materials and industrial stocks also saw notable weakness, while some strength was visible among healthcare stocks.