Canadian Stocks Giving Back Ground Amid Geopolitical Concerns

(RTTNews) - After moving moderately higher over the course of the previous session, Canadian stocks have given back some ground during trading on Friday.

Currently, the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is off its worst levels but still down 120.68 points or 0.5 percent at 26,495.07. The index ended Thursday's trading at a new record closing high.

The pullback on Bay Street may partly reflect geopolitical concerns after Israel launched a series of airstrikes against Iran earlier this morning.

The Israeli airstrikes targeting nuclear facilities and ballistic missile factories killed at least three of Iran's senior military leaders.

Iran retaliated by launching more than 100 drones toward Israeli territory, which the Israel Defense Forces said they are working to intercept.

Technology stocks have helped lead the market lower, with the S&P/TSX Capped Information Technology Index plunging by 2.0 percent.

Financial and consumer discretionary stocks are also seeing notable weakness, while a rally by energy stocks has helped limit the downside for the market.

The S&P/TSX Capped Energy Index has surged by 1.9 percent, as the price of crude oil is spiking by nearly 7 percent in response to the Middle East tensions.

Gold stocks are also bucking the downtrend amid a sharp increase by the price of the precious metal, driving the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index up by 1.4 percent.

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