On Friday, Canadian stock markets exhibited a mixed performance as investors evaluated a series of earnings reports from both the U.S. and Canada, alongside the latest set of economic data.
Energy stocks found some support, whereas those in the real estate sector underperformed. Shares in communications, consumer staples, and financial sectors were largely restrained.
The main S&P/TSX Composite Index recorded a decline of 41.30 points, or 0.17%, positioning it at 24,510.25.
Notably, Torex Gold Resources (TXG.TO) and iA Financial Corporation (IAG.TO) saw decreases of 3.4% and 3%, respectively. Other declines were noted in Cogeco Inc (CGO.TO), Brookfield Wealth Solutions (BNT.TO), Restaurant Brands International (QSR.TO), and Bombardier Inc (BBD.B.TO), ranging from 1% to 2%.
Conversely, West Fraser Timber (WFG.TO) experienced an increase of about 3%. Winpak (WPK.TO) and Celestica Inc (CLS.TO) saw gains of 2.7% and 2.3%, respectively, while Nutrien (NTR.TO), goeasy (GSY.TO), Boyd Group Services (BYD.TO), and Cargojet (CJT.TO) rose between 1% and 2%.
Corus Entertainment (CJR.B.TO) suffered nearly a 10% drop following unsatisfactory earnings results. The company reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $25.7 million, equating to $0.13 per share, in stark contrast to the $50.4 million net income, or $0.25 per share, observed during the same period last year.
From an economic standpoint, preliminary data from Statistics Canada suggested retail sales in the country likely edged up by 0.4% from the previous month in September.
In August, retail sales had risen by 1.4% compared to the same month in the previous year. Factory sales in Canada fell by 0.8% in September, following a 1.3% decline in August.
Additionally, Statistics Canada reported that the new housing price index held steady at 0% in September, while on a yearly basis, the index saw a slight increase to 0.2% in September from 0% in August.
