Canadian Market Recovers After Mild Setback

(RTTNews) - After a slightly positive start the Canadian market slipped into negative territory Friday morning, and despite coming off lower levels, remained in negative territory a little before noon. The mood in the market remained cautious amid continued uncertainty about fresh round peace talks between the U.S. and Iran.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which advanced to 33,965.39, dropped to 33,773.86 but recovered to 33,898.36, down just 14.57 points or 0.04% from previous close.

Healthcare stocks moved higher, while stocks from energy, technology and communications sectors showed weakness. Shares from the rest of the sectors turned in a mixed performance.

Energy stocks Suncor Energy, Imperial Oil, Tourmaline Oil Corp., Canadian Natural Resources, Topaz Energy, International Petroleum Corporation, Arc Resources and Stratcona Resources lost 1%-2%.

Tech stocks BlackBerry and Constellation Software shed 4.7% and 4.1%, respectively. Descartes Systems Group eased by about 2.1%, while Shopify, CGI Inc. and Open Text Corporation lost 1.1%-1.4%.

Communications stocks Rogers Communications and Telus Corporation lost 2.3% and 1.1%, respectively. Cogeco Communications drifted down 1% and BCE shed 0.9%.

Healthcare stock Curaleaf Holdings soared 9.5%. Sienna Senior Living and Chartwell Retirement Residences gained 1.6% and 1.8%, respectively.

On the economic front, retail sales in Canada are estimated to have increased 0.6% month-over-month in March 2026, according to a preliminary estimate. If confirmed, it would mark a third consecutive month of gains in retail sales. In February, retail sales were up 0.7%, below an initial estimate of a 0.9% rise.

Canada's wholesale trade is estimated to have risen by 1.3% month-over-month in March 2026, following a 2% advance in February, according to advance estimates.

Canada recorded a government budget surplus of C$5.66 billion in February.