The S&P/TSX Composite Index edged lower on Friday as weakness in industrial, energy and technology stocks outweighed gains in health care and financials.
The index closed down 67.61 points, or 0.2%, to 35,806.65 with mixed sectors. Industrials led decliner,s down 0.9%, followed by energy and information technology that closed down 0.7% and 0.4%, respectively. Shares in health care and financial closed up 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively.
The Battery Metals Index, which includes companies listed both on the TSX and TSX Venture Exchange, jumped 4.5%.
In commodities, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude fell on Friday as fresh diplomatic efforts around regional tensions helped ease some concerns over oil supply disruptions, even as risks to shipping routes in the Middle East remained elevated. October WTI crude oil contract settled down $1.61, or 1.6%, at $100.30 per barrel, while November Brent oil was last seen down $1.13, or 1.1%, at $103.69 per barrel.
Meanwhile, December Comex gold futures jumped 0.4%, or $17.30, to $4,417.00 per ounce at last look.
In currencies, the US dollar edged lower 0.02% against the Canadian dollar, with USD/CAD at 1.3988 at last look.
In economics news, international investors bought CA$20.7 billion of Canadian securities in July, bringing the rolling 12-month inflow to an "astonishing" CA$295.5 billion, equivalent to 8.7% of this year's gross domestic product, BMO Capital Markets said in a note.
The inflow was driven entirely by Canadian bonds, said BMO's Chief Economist Douglas Porter in the note.
Meanwhile, Canada is a net importer of vehicles, in contrast to Mexico, which is becoming a major auto exporter, according to BMO.
Canada produced 1.2 million vehicles over the past 12 months, compared with 3.9 million in Mexico, said. Yet Canada sells more vehicles domestically than Mexico, with more than 1.9 million sold versus around 1.6 million in Mexico.
The distinction is becoming more relevant as reports indicate that Mexico and the US may be close to a trade and tariff agreement. The impact on Mexico's auto industry will be worth watching, particularly as Prime Minister Mark Carney cited the refusal by the United States to ease the 25% tariff on light trucks as one reason US-Canada trade talks broke down last month, Porter wrote.