Canada's main stock index slipped on weekend, ending a 6-day rising streak as losses among energy and financial stocks outweighed gains for gold miners.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended down 7.08 points, or 0.05 percent, at 15,328.15. It rose 0.5 percent on the week. Six of its 10 main groups rose, with the heavyweight energy group down 0.7 percent and financials off 0.2 percent. Those two sectors combine to account for 57 percent of the index's weight.
Crescent Point Energy Corp fell 1.9 percent to C$18.17 and Bank of Montreal slipped 0.2 percent to C$97.17.
The Canadian economy retreated in October due to widespread weakness in the manufacturing sector and a decline in oil and gas extraction, raising the risk fourth-quarter growth could slow more than the Bank of Canada anticipates.
"There's the unexpected October contraction, which we viewed as not so unexpected," said Simon Jochlin, a portfolio analytics associate at StennerZohny Investment Partners+, part of Richardson GMP Ltd. He said he thinks there is a 50 percent chance that the Canadian economy falls into recession in 2017, forcing the central bank to cut rates next year.
"When you do have consumers as leveraged as they are and a disproportionate allocation to real estate and indirect dependence on it for output and growth, it could very quickly impact sectors throughout," he said. The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, rose 1 percent as bullion prices edged higher.
Oceanagold Corp rose 3.5 percent to C$3.51 and Iamgold Corp rose 3.6 percent to C$4.55.
CGI Group Inc added 1 percent to C$63.73. The IT company said on Thursday it had signed a 10-year, $150 million deal to renew and expand its partnership with iA Financial Group. Logistics software company Descartes Systems Group rose 1.9 percent to C$28.57. It said it has acquired trade data company Datamyne for $52.7 million in cash.
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