Canadian main stock market closes lower

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TORONTO (PNA/Xinhua) — Toronto Stock Exchange, Canada’s main stock market, on Friday extended losses for a third trading day as investors were worried about the Canadian economic growth.

The benchmark S&P/TSX composite index of the exchange was down 73.83 points, or 0.51 percent, to 14,515.06 points, plummeting to nearly a four-week low since April 22, when the index closed at 14,555.97 points.

Most of the weighed sectors lost ground, led by the decline in energy and financial shares. The mining sector decreased 0.67 percent and the tech shares were down 0.52 percent. However, the health care sector moved up 0.95 percent.

The Toronto stock market as a whole was on the downswing as investors were concerned about the momentum of Canada’s economic growth. Investors traded cautiously to seek for clues ahead of the release of consumer price index (CPI) for April scheduled for next week.

The equity market in Canada attracted less investment in March. According to a report released by Statistics Canada Friday, Canadian investors acquired 7.9 billion Canadian dollars (about USD 7. 3 billion) worth of foreign securities in March, the largest such outflow of funds since November 2012. Meanwhile, foreign investors reduced their holdings of Canadian securities by 1.2 billion Canadian dollars, the first monthly divestment this year.

The risk in the housing market is also accumulating. Toronto- Dominion Bank economist Diana Petramala wrote in a research note Wednesday that “with home prices already estimated to be 10 percent overvalued, the risk is for more froth to gather in the Canadian housing market.” And the Canadian Real Estate Association said Thursday that the national average sale price rose 7.6 percent on a year-over-year basis in April.

In corporate news, smartphone maker BlackBerry tumbled 1.87 percent to 7.88 Canadian dollars a share, sinking to a half-year low.

The Canadian communication giant TELUS Corporation hit a new 52- week high of 40.95 Canadian dollars per share in the midday trading and settled at 40.52 Canadian dollars Friday.