By Rebecca L. McClay, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Toronto stocks inched ahead Friday, led by metals and mining stocks, as the Canadian dollar slipped on a report on weak U.S. retail sales.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index (CA:$ISPTX 11,650, +14.46, +0.12%) was up 0.06% to 11,681.
The Canadian dollar, which has risen 2.5% this week, fell 0.7% to C$1.037 per U.S. dollar after the U.S. Commerce Department said retail sales had declined in May for the first time in eight months. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch were predicting a 0.2% gain in sales, but sales tumbled 1.2% instead.
Derek Holt, vice-president of Capital Markets Research, said he expects the Canadian dollar will continue to strengthen, estimating an appreciation of another 5 to 6 cents.
"We took a bit of a step back but we've retained most of the gains [in the loonie] this week," Holt said. "It's something we're going to have to get used to."
The S&P Capped Diversified Metals index (CA:TTMN 859.53, +1.48, +0.17%) was up 0.4%, with top advancer Major Drilling Group (CA:MDI 24.24, +0.53, +2.24%) gaining 2.5%.
Financials stocks stumbled. The S&P/TSX Capped Financial index (CA:TTFS 173.97, +2.72, +1.59%) dropped 0.4%. CDN Western Bank (CA:CWB 23.90, +0.52, +2.22%) climbed 1.6%, however Sun Life Financial (CA:SLF 29.83, -0.17, -0.57%) was down 0.8%.
