TORONTO: Canada's main stock index fell modestly in morning trading on Friday, weighed by financial and railway companies, though better-than-expected results from BlackBerry offset some of the losses.
The most influential movers on the index included Royal Bank of Canada, which fell 0.5 percent to C$97.43, and Bank of Nova Scotia, which declined 0.7 percent to C$78.12. Bank of Montreal slipped 0.4 percent to C$99.47.
CIBC, which fell nearly 3 percent on Thursday after it raised its offer for PrivateBancorp Inc, recouped some of the previous session's losses, rising 0.6 percent to C$114.41.
The overall financials group slipped 0.4 percent.
At 10:27 a.m ET (1427 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was down 19.42 points, or 0.12 percent, to 15,559.34.
Of the index's 10 main groups, six fell.
BlackBerry Ltd, which said it expects to be profitable on an adjusted basis in 2018 and nearly halved its operating costs, was one of the bright spots in the market. Shares surged 14.9 percent to C$10.65.
The tech group was the best performing sector, climbing 1.0 percent.
Canada's two biggest rail operators also dragged, with Canadian Pacific Railway slipping 0.7 percent to C$196.03 and Canadian National Railway off 0.1 percent to C$98.48. Industrials fell 0.2 percent.
Energy stocks tracked moves in oil prices, which fell after a three-day crude rally ran out of steam. The group retreated 0.2 percent.
US crude prices were down 0.5 percent to $50.11 a barrel, while Brent crude lost 0.7 percent to $52.6.
Data showed the Canadian economy expanded by a healthy 0.6 percent in January from December, indicating first-quarter growth will be stronger than expected as the country gradually recovers from the shock of low oil prices.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the TSX by 128 to 119, for a 1.08-to-1 ratio on the downside.
The index was posting 5 new 52-week highs and 1 new lows.
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