FX.co ★ Canadian Market Remains Weak Despite Paring Some Early Losses

Following a somewhat weak start and subsequent decline, the Canadian market has managed to recover some of its earlier losses this Friday, with select stocks receiving modest support.

However, the overall sentiment remains cautious due to ongoing uncertainty regarding interest rate outlooks and political concerns in Europe.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which had dropped to 21,486.83 earlier in the session, was recently reported down by 84.14 points or 0.39%, standing at 21,613.97.

Shares in the communications, consumer staples, energy, and financial sectors are among the notable losers, while technology stocks are receiving some support.

Key decliners include BCE Inc (BCE.TO), Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC.A.TO), Methanex Corporation (MX.TO), Alimentation Couche-Tard (ATD.TO), Linamar Corporation (LNR.TO), Bombardier Inc (BBD.A.TO), and Celestica Inc (CLS.TO), with losses ranging from 2.5% to 3.7%.

Additionally, Colliers International (CIGI.TO), George Weston (WN.TO), Loblaw Companies (L.TO), TFI International (TFI.TO), WSP Global (WSP.TO), and Franco-Nevada Corporation (FNV.TO) are down between 1% and 1.7%.

Notably, Loblaw Companies (L.TO) has declined by 1.2%. The company announced it has entered an automatic share purchase plan with a broker to repurchase shares as part of its previously announced normal course issuer bid. Earlier, Loblaw had received approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange to purchase up to 15.336 million shares, representing approximately 5% of the 306.737 million shares outstanding as of April 22.

On a positive note, Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) and Boyd Group Services (BYD.TO) have seen increases of 5% and 3.5%, respectively. Other gainers include CCL Industries (CCL.A.TO), Cargojet (CJT.TO), goeasy (GSY.TO), and Dollarama (DOL.TO), with gains of 2% to 3%. Teck Resources (TECK.B.TO) and CCL Industries (CCL.B.TO) have also shown notable increases.

In economic news, Statistics Canada reported that manufacturing sales in Canada rose by 1.2% in April, rebounding from a 2.1% decline in the previous month. Wholesale sales in Canada increased by 2.4% in April, following a decline of 1.1% in March.