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TORONTO, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Canada's main stock market ended a rollercoaster week lower on Friday, as declines in Materials and Financial stocks outweighed advances in the Telecommunication sector.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite fell 71.16 points, or 0.46 percent to close the week at 15,491.25 points. Seven of the ten sub-groups finished the session in negative territory.
The Materials and Financial groups had the biggest impact on the day, falling 0.92 percent and 0.63 percent, respectively.
The TSX Materials group, which consists of producers of gold, precious metals, and raw materials, fell despite the price of gold finishing ahead for a third straight day. The spot price of bullion advanced 0.24 percent to 1,228.80 U.S. dollars an ounce. Shares of gold miners Goldcorp Inc. and Barrick Gold Corporation were among the top traded stocks during the session, retreating 0.29 percent and 0.28 percent, respectively.
The biggest movers within the group were a pair of Vancouver-based mining firms. Teck Resources Limited shares dipped 2.05 percent to 28.25 Canadian dollars (21.18 U.S. dollars), while First Quantum Minerals Ltd. descended 1.37 percent to close at 14.41 Canadian dollars (10.80 U.S. dollars).
The TSX Financials group finished behind, as the country's top financial institutions ended the week on a low. Manulife Financial Corporation, the largest insurance firm in Canada retreated 1.51 percent to close at 24.13 Canadian dollars (18.09 U.S. dollars). Meanwhile, Royal Bank of Canada, the country's largest bank by market capitalization faded 0.57 percent to close at 96.76 Canadian dollars (72.55 U.S. dollars). Toronto-Dominion Bank and Bank of Nova Scotia also contributed to the end result, with respective losses of 0.41 percent and 0.82 percent, apiece.
Other groups to end Friday in negative territory included: Health Care (1.49 percent), Energy (0.58 percent), Consumer Discretionary (0.31 percent), Consumer Staples (0.19 percent), and Information Technology (0.08 percent).
Health Care saw the biggest percentage dip, as Quebec-based drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceutical International Inc. saw shares retreated 2.06 percent to 14.72 Canadian dollars (11.04 U.S. dollars). Also contributing to the losses was Toronto-based long-term care company Chartwell Retirement Residences shares declining 2.69 percent to 14.82 Canadian dollars (11.11 U.S. dollars)
Energy stocks closed down as the price of crude oil continued to slump. Delivery of Brent in May faded 0.12 percent to close at 51.72 U.S. dollars. The benchmark crude oil has traded lower in eight of the last nine sessions for a combined loss of 7.46 percent.
Subsequently, Calgary-based Enbridge Inc. and Encana Corporation were among the top-ten traded during the session. Shares of the firms ended the day down 1.33 percent and 1.04 percent, each. Meanwhile, Suncor Energy Inc. ended the day at 41.15 Canadian dollars (30.85 U.S. dollars) a share, a 0.41 percent uptick. Since the start of the year, the TSX Energy group as a whole is down a combined 9.99 percent.
The TSX Telecommunication Services group was one of the bright spots on the day, rising 0.97 percent after the takeover of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. by BCE Inc. was finalized. The 3.1 billion Canadian dollar deal, which received approval by the regulatory bodies last month will see BCE, the parent company of Bell Canada gain an additional 710,000 customers.
Shares of BCE advanced 1.27 percent to 58.30 Canadian dollars (43.71 U.S. dollars), while Manitoba Telecom shares did even better with a 2.54 percent jump to finish the week at 40.37 Canadian dollars (30.27 U.S. dollars).
Also finishing ahead on Friday were Utilities and Industrial groups, ticking up 0.28 percent and 0.01 percent, apiece.
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.06 cents to finish the week at 0.7498 U.S. dollars.
