WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Canadian stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading session on Thursday, extending the decline seen in the previous session. The S&P/TSX Composite Index slid 112.92 points or 0.7 percent to 15,535.48.
The lower close by the markets was partly due to significant weakness among energy stocks, with the S&P/TSX Capped Energy Index slumping by 1.6 percent.
The weakness in the energy sector came despite a modest increase by the price of crude oil, as crude for May delivery inched up $0.07 to $53.18 a barrel.
Metals and mining, healthcare, and financial stocks also saw considerable weakness on the day, moving lower along with most of the other sectors.
In economic news, separate reports from Statistics Canada said manufacturing sales edged down by 0.2 percent in February, while the New Housing Price Index rose by 0.4 percent during the month.
A report released by the U.S. Labor Department showed a modest decrease in producer prices in the month of March.
The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand edged down by 0.1 percent in March after rising by 0.3 percent in February. Economists had expected prices to come in flat.
The report also said core producer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, came in unchanged in March following a 0.3 percent increase in February. Core prices had been expected to rise by 0.2 percent.
The Labor Department also released a report showing an unexpected drop in first-time claims for unemployment benefits in the week ended April 8th.
The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 234,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised level of 235,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 245,000.
Meanwhile, the University of Michigan released a report showing an unexpected improvement in U.S. consumer sentiment in the month of April.
The report said the consumer sentiment index rose to 98.0 in April from 96.9 in March, while economists had expected the index to edge down to 96.6.
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