Canadian shares stumble in year-end retreat

Nine of TSX’s 10 main groups fall

TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada’s main stock index fell broadly on the last trading day of the year on Friday, with volumes thin ahead of the New Year, but logged an overall robust annual gain.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index rose 17.4% for the year, adding 2,266.83 points in 2016. The index also touched its highest level since April 2015 in the previous session.

Some analysts predict more gains in 2017, particularly for resource and energy stocks.

On Friday, the TSX fell 134.53 points, or 0.87%, to end at 15,287.59. Among the index’s 10 main sectors, only healthcare notched a win.

“There’s very little volume. A lot of these stocks ran up into the Christmas season and sort of just drifted sideways to down,” said Paul Harris, portfolio manager at Avenue Investment Management. “Most people aren’t around, so that’s just hampered any liquidity in the marketplace.”

Canadian National Railway Co. was the most influential decliner on the index, falling 1.6% to C$90.36. The overall industrial stocks fell 1.0%.

The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, saw the heftiest losses, falling 2.8%. Barrick Gold Corp shares fell 2.9% to C$21.49.

The heavily weighted financials group slipped 0.6%, led by Toronto Dominion Bank’s 0.8% fall to C$66.22, and Royal Bank of Canada’s 0.6% dip to C$90.87.

Energy stocks fell 0.7%, with Suncor Energy Inc losing 0.9% to finish at C$43.90.

On Friday, the Bank of Israel set its representative rate for the Canadian dollar at NIS 2.8511.