Toronto Stocks Inch Down; Corus Slides as Fewer Ad Dollars Weigh on Revenue

By Adriano Marchese

Toronto stocks edged lower mid-session Friday. Losses primarily in communications, retail trade and health services were offset by gains mainly in consumer durables, process industries and energy stocks.

Retail sales in Canada rose 0.4% August, its second straight month higher, to a seasonally adjusted 66.63 billion Canadian dollars, the equivalent of about US$48.09 billion, buoyed by increased trade at car dealers.

Meanwhile, an advance estimate points to a fall of 0.8% in Canadian factory trade, a further pullback in September.

Canada's S&P/TSX Composite Index were 0.2% lower at 24504.79, and the blue-chip S&P/TSX 60 fell by 0.2% to 1464.70.

Shares in Corus Entertainment fell sharply Friday morning after the company reported lower revenue in its fiscal fourth quarter as once-lucrative ad dollars continue to decline, a trend that it expects will continue in the next quarter.

Write to Adriano Marchese at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-25-24 1223ET