TSX Ends Modestly Lower, Drops Nearly 1.5% In Week

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market ended on a weak note on Friday, extending losses to a fifth straight session, on concerns about the outlook for economic growth, and on uncertainty about the outcome of the upcoming U.S. presidential election.

Losses in real estate, consumer discretionary, communications and materials sectors contributed to the weakness. Several stocks from industrials, financials and technology sectors also closed weak, while energy and healthcare stocks found support.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which moved up a bit after opening flat, turned weak around late morning and kept losing ground thereafter and eventually ended the day's session with a loss of 87.88 points or 0.36% at 24,463.67. The index dropped nearly 1.5% in the week.

On the economic front, data srom Statistics Canada showed retail sales in the country likely increased by 0.4% from the previous month in September, according to flash estimate.

Retail sales increased 1.4% in August over the same month in the previous year.

Manufacturing sales in Canada decreased by 0.8% in September from -1.3% in August.

Another data from Statistics Canada said the new house price index in Canada remained unchanged at 0% in September. On yearly basis, the index increased to 0.2% in September from 0% in August.

iA Financial Corporation (IAG.TO) ended down 2.5%. Restaurant Brands International (QSR.TO), Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP.TO), Kinaxis Inc (KXS.TO), Constellation Software (CSU.TO) and Dollarama Inc (DOL.TO) closed lower by 1 to 2%.

Winpak Ltd. (WPK.TO) climbed more than 4.5%. goeasy (GSY.TO) gained about 3.2%. Celestica Inc (CLS.TO), West Fraser Timber (WFG.TO), Teck Resources (TECK.B.TO), Precision Drilling Corporation (PD.TO), Imperial Oil (IMO.TO), Morguard Corporation (MRC.TO) and Boyd Group Services (BYD.TO) advanced 1 to 2.6%.