Canadian Stocks Show Modest Move To The Downside

(RTTNews) - After failing to sustain an early move to the upside, Canadian stocks moved modestly lower over the course of the trading session on Thursday.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index climbed off its worst levels going into the close but still ended the day down 35.35 points or 0.1 percent at 25,534.49.

The modest weakness on Bay Street came as traders looked ahead to the release of the U.S. Labor Department's closely watched monthly employment report on Friday.

The report, which is expected to show employment climbed by 170,000 jobs in January after jumping by 256,000 jobs in December, could impact the outlook for interest rates.

Healthcare stocks turned in some of the market's worst performances on the day, resulting in a 3.1 percent nosedive by the S&P/TSX Capped Health Care Index.

Substantial weakness was also visible among telecom stocks, as reflected by the 3.0 percent slump by the S&P/TSX Capped Communication Services Index.

Technology, real estate and energy stocks also saw considerable weakness, while financial stocks bucked the downtrend.