Canadian Stocks Close In The Red But Well Off Lows -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks staged a notable recovery attempt over the course of the trading session on Thursday after seeing initial weakness but still ended the day in the red.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index eventually ended the day down 21.37 points or 0.2 percent at 13,358.11 but well off its intraday low of 13,255.47.

The recovery attempt by the broader markets was partly due to a rebound by energy stocks, which bounced well off their early lows along with the price of crude oil.

After hitting a low of $38.33 a barrel, crude oil for May delivery showed a significant rebound but still ended the day $0.33 at $39.46 a barrel.

However, notable weakness remained visible among health care and financial stocks, contributing to the lower close by the S&P/TSX Composite Index.

Gold for April delivery ended the session down $2.40 at $1,221.60 an ounce after tumbling $24.60 to $1,224 an ounce in the previous session.

In the U.S., the major averages also recovered from an early move to the downside before ending the trading session mixed.