Canada’s main stock index was muted on Friday as gains in the heavyweight materials and financial sectors countered losses in energy shares, while mixed U.S. data weakened the upbeat sentiment around the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate path.
At 11 a.m., the S&P/TSX composite index was down 32.18 points, or 0.14%, at 23,000.54, a day after clocking a six-session winning streak.
Materials shares led sectoral gains with a 0.5% rise as gold prices headed for a weekly gain on optimism around a U.S. rate cut in September.
The financial sector rose 0.2%, lifted by gains in Sprott Inc shares after the investment management firm posted better-than-expected second-quarter profit.
The heavyweight energy sector lost 0.8%, tracking oil prices that declined after a string of bleak indicators from China for July.
Other sub-indexes were also down after data showed U.S. single-family homebuilding fell in July, suggesting the housing market was…
