TSX Ends Weak For 3rd Straight Day

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market ended notably lower on Friday, extending losses to a third straight session, amid lingering concerns about geopolitical tensions, and weak commodity prices.

Energy, materials and technology stocks posted sharp losses. Industrials and consumer staples shares too mostly ended weak.

With a long weekend ahead, the mood remained quite cautious.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a loss of 168.13 points or 0.79% at 21,008.20, slightly off the day's low of 21,000.56. The index shed about 2.5% in the week.

Bombardier Inc (BBD.B.TO), Baytex Energy (BTE.TO), Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO), Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) and BlackBerry (BB.TO) shed 2.4 to 4.1% on strong volumes.

B2Gold Corp (BTO.TO) and Suncor Energy (SU.TO) declined 1.9% and 1.65%, respectively.

Docebo Inc (DCBO.TO), CCL Industries (CCL.A.TO), WSP Global (WSP.TO), Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO), Precision Drilling Corporation (PD.TO) and Kinaxis Inc (KXS.TO) lost 2 to 5.25%.

Air Canada (AC.TO) shares climbed up 3.1% after the company's operating loss narrowed in the fourth quarter. The company reported fourth quarter 2021 operating loss of $503 million compared to an operating loss of $1.003 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Incorporated (RBA.TO) shares declined more than 10% after the company reported fourt-quarter net income of $30.6 million, down 37% compared to net income of $48.9 million in the fourth-quarter of 2020.

In economic news, retail sales in Canada likely rose 2.4% month-over-month in January of 2022, preliminary estimates showed. Considering December, retail sales decreased 1.8% over a month earlier, compared to an upwardly revised 0.8% increase in November.

Retail sales excluding autos in Canada decreased 2.5% month on month in December of 2021, the biggest decline in eight months.

Another data from Statistics Canada showed new home prices in Canada grew by 0.9% from a month earlier in January of 2022, up from a 0.2% increase in the previous month. Year-on-year, new home prices advanced 11.8%, after a 11.6% rise in the previous month.