Canadian stocks slip in short Christmas Eve session

Canadian stocks closed slightly lower Wednesday in an abbreviated Christmas Eve trading session. The S&P/TSX composite index was down by 1.36 points, ending at 8,310.55 points.

The gold sub-index slipped by 1.2 per cent, while the mining group was down 0.95 per cent. The information technology group eased 0.82 per cent.

The telecommunications group was the leading gainer, adding 1.68 per cent, while the real-estate group rose 1.59 per cent.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 48.99 points to end at 8,468.40. The Nasdaq composite index added 3.36 points to finish at 1,524.90. The broader S&P 500 index closed with a gain of 4.99 points at 868.15.

On foreign exchange market the Canadian dollar gained 0.37 of a cent, closing at 82.70 cents US.