Canadian Stocks Close Slightly Higher After Recovering From Early Weakness

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks moved to the downside early in the trading day on Friday but rebounded over the course of the session.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index climbed well off its early lows before ending the day up 25.94 points or 0.1 percent at 25,879.95.

Renewed trade concerns weighed on the market early in the session after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose 50 percent tariffs on imports from the European Union beginning June 1st.

Trump claimed in a post on Truth Social that the EU has "been very difficult to deal with" and said trade talks with the bloc are "going nowhere!"

In a separate Truth Social, Trump also threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on Apple (AAPL) iPhones that are not manufactured in the U.S.

Selling pressure waned over the course of the session, however, as analysts suggested Trump's threatened tariff on the EU is just a negotiating tactic and not where the eventual rate will wind up.

Gold stocks helped lead the turnaround on Bay Street amid a sharp increase by the price of the precious metal, with the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index jumping by 1.5 percent.

On the other hand, notable weakness remained visible among tech stocks, as reflected by the 1.4 percent loss posted by the S&P/TSX Capped IT Index.

In Canadian economic news, Statistics Canada released a report showing retail sales climbed by 0.8 percent in March, led by increases at motor vehicle and parts dealers.

Core retail sales, which exclude gasoline stations and fuel vendors and motor vehicle and parts dealers, edged up by 0.2 percent in March.