Canada's main equity index closed marginally lower on Friday, with the S&P/TSX Composite slipping 0.03% at the Toronto close as losses in the Energy, Telecoms and Real Estate sectors offset gains elsewhere.
The session's top gainer on the S&P/TSX Composite was Curaleaf Holdings Inc (TSX:CURA), which climbed 13.00% or 0.52 points to finish at 4.52. Celestica Inc. (TSX:CLS) also posted a strong advance, adding 4.38% or 23.53 points to end at 561.01, while TransAlta Corp (TSX:TA) rose 2.90% or 0.48 points to 17.03 in late trade.
On the downside, Energy Fuels Inc. (TSX:EFR) led decliners, falling 7.22% or 2.16 points to close at 27.77. First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (TSX:FM) lost 4.20% or 1.57 points to finish at 35.85, and BlackBerry Ltd (TSX:BB) declined 4.02% or 0.29 points to end at 6.92.
Market breadth on the Toronto Stock Exchange showed more advancers than decliners, with 497 stocks rising, 445 falling and 78 unchanged by the close.
Celestica's share price move pushed the company to a new milestone for the session; shares rose to all time highs, gaining 4.38% or 23.53 to 561.01.
Volatility, as measured by the S&P/TSX 60 VIX which reflects implied volatility of S&P/TSX Composite options, eased 4.23% to 16.97.
Commodities showed mixed results. Gold Futures for June delivery was effectively unchanged, down 0.00% or 0.06 to $4,723.94 a troy ounce. U.S. crude oil for June delivery fell 0.58% or 0.56 to $95.29 a barrel, while the June Brent oil contract rose 1.35% or 1.42 to trade at $106.49 a barrel.
In currency markets, the Canadian dollar's quotes were broadly steady. CAD/USD was unchanged, listed as 0.22% to 0.73, while CAD/EUR was unchanged 0.11% to 0.62. The US Dollar Index Futures declined 0.26% to 98.35.
Market takeaway - The S&P/TSX Composite's tiny decline masks a session of divergent individual stock performance: a handful of names recorded double-digit or multi-percent gains, while several resource and tech-linked companies saw sharper pullbacks. Volatility softened modestly and commodity prices displayed contrasting directions between precious metals and oil benchmarks.