Roundup: Canadian stock market flat amid inflation data

Canada's stocks in Toronto was little changed on Friday as investors were sifting through the latest domestic inflation data.

Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index was down 2.85 points, or 0.02 percent, to 15,200.76 points, with all the eight major sectors little changed.

Statistics Canada said on Friday that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.8 percent year on year in April, following a 1.2 percent reading in March. The figure was the weakest since October 2013.

The energy sector, slightly lower 0.16 percent, weighed on the equities market after the federal agency said lower energy prices contributed significantly to the deceleration in CPI inflation in April.

"We expect to see further softness in inflation over the next two quarters until the base effect from lower oil prices runs its course," said Jonathan Bendiner, an economist from TD Bank.

Oil and gas company Encana dropped 1.32 percent to 16.40 Canadian dollars (about 13.33 U.S. dollars), while Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. dipped 0.27 percent to close at 11.19 Canadian dollars per share.

Financials also lost ground by 0.24 percent after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said she expects to raise interest rates this year if the economy continues to improve.

However, Info Tech, the biggest gainer in TSX, was up 0.76 percent when the software developer Open Text Corporation soared 2. 12 percent to 52.9 Canadian dollars, and Canada's biggest smartphone maker Blackberry jumped 2.71 percent to 12.88 Canadian dollars.

Other gainers included Health Care and Telecom, higher 0.46 percent and 0.29 percent respectively.

On the currency front, the Canadian dollar on Friday traded lower at 0.8129 U.S. dollar, compared with 0.8191 U.S. dollar on Thursday, following the inflation data. Endite