TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index, the S&P/TSX Composite, ended Friday’s session nearly unchanged, hovering around the 27,920 mark as market sentiment was balanced between geopolitical caution and signs of domestic economic strength.
Investors largely remained on the sidelines ahead of a high-stakes U.S.-Russia summit aimed at discussing a potential end to the war in Ukraine, leading to a muted trading session.
The market saw a tug-of-war between sectors. Losses were led by the heavyweight materials sector, with major miners like Agnico Eagle and Wheaton Precious Metals each falling more than 0.5%. Tech giant Shopify also trimmed about 0.5%.
However, these declines were largely offset by strong performances from other key stocks. Software heavyweight Constellation Software was a notable outperformer, rallying over 2%, while information services provider Thomson Reuters added nearly 1%.
Providing some support for the market were signs of selective strength in the Canadian economy. Fresh data showed that manufacturing sales rose by 0.3%, while wholesale sales saw a healthier gain of 0.7% to C$84.7 billion, helping to limit the day’s overall losses.
Despite the flat performance on Friday, the Toronto exchange was on track to close the week with a modest gain of approximately 0.6%.
