TSX Ends Marginally Down

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market ended slightly down on Thursday as concerns about growth outlook and rising trade tensions weighed on sentiment. Reports that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney may call a snap election in late April raised uncertainty on the political front.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended down 8.97 points or 0.04% at 25,060.24. The index, which tumbled to 24,923.12 in early trades, climbed to 25,174.97 around late morning, but retreated to around 25,000 before recovering some lost ground.

Communications stocks closed weak. Energy and healthcare stocks found some support, while stocks from the rest of the sectors turned in a mixed performance.

CGI Inc ended down 4.7%, BRP Inc closed lower by about 4.1% and First Quantum Minerals closed lower by about 4%. Lundin Gold, Aritzia and Algoma Stell lost 3.3 to 3.4%.

Lundin Mining, First Majestic Silver, B2Gold Corp, Brookfield Infrastructure, Boyd Group Services, Wesdome Gold Mines and Aecon Group lost 2 to 3%.

Celestica Inc, MDA, Secure Energy Services, Orla Mining, TerraVest Industries, Kelt Exploration, Denison Mines, Vermilion Energy, Keyera Corp, Paramount Services, Methanex, TC Energy, AltaGas and Parex Resources gained 1.5 to 4%.

Data from Statistics Canada showed the industrial product price index grew 0.4% month over month in February, and increased 4.9% year over year. The index rose 1.6% month over month in January and increased 5.8% year over year.

The Raw Materials Price Index increased 0.3% month over month in February and rose 9.3% year over year, after growing 3.7% on a monthly basis and 11.8% year over year.