Canadian Stocks Recover From Early Pullback To Close Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks moved to the downside early in the session on Friday but showed a notable turnaround over the course of the trading day.

Closing higher for the ninth consecutive session, the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 74.45 points or 0.3 percent at 25,971.93.

Profit taking may have contributed to initial weakness on Bay Street, but buying interest re-emerged as the day progressed amid continued optimism about U.S. trade policy after Monday's news of the U.S.-China trade deal.

Healthcare stocks helped lead the turnaround on the day, with the S&P/TSX Capped Health Care Index surging by 3.3 percent.

Consumer discretionary and commercial real estate stocks also showed strong moves to the upside over the course of the session, while most of the other major sectors ended the day showing more modest moves.