Toronto stocks closed lower on Friday, hit by negative news on Nortel Networks Corp and weaker than expected US jobs figures.
Market watchers noted the thinness of the market may have exaggerated the downward move because of the shortened trading week in Canada and ahead of the US Independence Day holiday on Monday. Canadian markets were closed on Thursday for Canada Day.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index fell 58.27 points, or 0.68 percent, to close at 8,487.31 on volume of 113 million shares worth C$1.5 billion.
On the week, the exchange lost 0.12 percent. Market momentum was negative with decliners topping advancers 589 to 514.
Eight of the TSX index's 10 subgroups fell with the technology group down 3.15 percent.
Shares of Nortel fell 64 Canadian cents, or 9.6 percent, to C$6.05 after a report in the Wall Street Journal on Friday said that Nortel manipulated its books to show a profit in 2003.
Besides the negative report, CIBC downgraded its rating on the stock of the telecoms-equipment provider, saying it no longer represented a bargain as its prospects remain unclear.
"It never seems to stop. At Nortel there's always more and more negative surprises. I think you have to step back and watch until you see something you can trust," said Sal Masionis, stockbroker with Brant Securities Ltd.
"It's frustrating because this is one of our leading companies."
Elsewhere in techs, Celestica Inc was down C$1.73, or 6 percent, at C$24.96, and ATI Technologies Inc fell C$1.07, or 4 percent, to C$24.09.
The heavily weighted financial index dropped 0.25 percent. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce fell 70 Canadian cents, or 1 percent, to C$64.50. Manulife Financial ended down 15 Canadian cents to C$53.90, and Bank of Montreal fell 37 Canadian cents to C$53.
On the upside, the energy group gained 0.12 percent and utilities were up 0.38 percent.
Toronto's blue-chip S&P/TSX index finished down 3.98 points, or 0.84 percent, at 468.80.
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