12:08 PM EDT, 06/13/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The Toronto Stock Exchange, which was down over 100 points earlier, has recovered most of its losses and is now down 40 points.

The energy sector, up 1.68%, and healthcare, up 0.6%, are the sole gainers. Info tech, down 1.3%, is the biggest decliner.

Stocks are lower after Israeli attacks on Iran Thursday, leading to a jump in oil prices. BMO Economics noted Heightened geopolitical risks have triggered a flight to safety this morning, as Mideast tensions reach a boiling point. Israel's airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities sent oil prices soaring, gold higher, and equities down.

Gold rose to a record high early on Friday as safe-haven buying surges. Also, oil prices climbed amid fears of a spreading conflict in the region which supplies more than a fifth of the world's oil.

On the home front, CIBC said manufacturing and wholesale sales were both weaker than expected in April, suggesting monthly GDP may also be revised lower relative to its first estimate. The bank noted the 2.8% decline in manufacturing sales was weaker than the 2% drop expected by the consensus based on the advance estimate. Separately, wholesale sales also fell more than expected in April (-2.3% vs -0.9% consensus), with volumes declining by slightly more than 2%. The auto sector once again saw the largest decline, and supplemental questions showed 43% of respondents reporting negative impacts from U.S. tariffs.

"Overall," CIBC said, "today's data suggest that April GDP will be downgraded from the surprisingly positive +0.1% first estimate. Even accounting for the fact that value-add (GDP) in sectors such as autos is lower relative to sales, April GDP is probably more likely to come in at a flat reading or possibly a slight negative which would also leave Q2 tracking broadly flat relative to the prior quarter."

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