Israeli Air Strikes On Iran Drag Canadian Stocks Down From Record Highs

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market slipped down from yesterday's record high on Friday in response to Israel extensively attacking Iran.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index regained some ground after an early slump but once again came under pressure as the day progressed, closing down 111.40 points or 0.4% at 26,504.35. However, the index recorded its third consecutive weekly gain, climbing 0.6%.

Earlier today, around 200 Israeli Air Force fighter jets attacked hundreds of nuclear and military targets across Iran. While US President Donald Trump stated that Iran brought on this attack upon itself, Iran warned that Israel would pay a "heavy price" for its attacks.

This development has increased the threat of a full-blown conflict in the Middle East. Reacting to these developments, global stock markets tumbled today.

In Canadian economic news, separate reports released by Statistics Canada showed manufacturing sales and wholesale sales tumbled by 2.8% and 2.3%, respectively, in April.

The major sectors that lost in today's trading were IT, Consumer Discretionary, Real Estate and Industrials shedding 2.58%, 1.68%, 1.09%, and 1.04% respectively.

Utilities, Communication Services, Consumer Staples, and Financials were the other sectors that gave away between 0.23% and 0.89%.

Among the individual stocks, Lightspeed Commerce (5.30%), Docebo (4.53%), Celestica Inc. (4.31%), Shopify (3.62%), Magna International (3.19%), and Canadian National Railway (1.50%) were among the notable losers.

The major sectors that benefitted in today's trading were Energy, Healthcare, and Materials, gaining 2.77%, 2.08%, and 1.41% respectively.

Among individual stocks, International Petroleum (9.04%), Baytex Energy (4.93%), Suncor Energy (4.70%), Methanex Corp (4.41%), Dundee Precious Metals (4.00%), and Barrick Mining Corp (2.95%) were the prominent gainers.

All eyes are on the upcoming G-7 Leader's Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, where a meeting between Trump and Canadian premier Mark Carney is expected to ease bilateral trade tensions.