The S&P/TSX Composite Index’s winning streak was halted Friday as losses in the technology subgroup led a broadly lower day for Canadian stocks.

At 4:00 p.m. ET, the Canadian benchmark index closed down 79.93 points to 18,982.92. The TSX had closed higher in each of the previous five sessions, which represented its longest stretch of gains since May.

Shopify Inc. was the biggest drag on the TSX, as its shares fell 7.28 per cent to $48.24 and were responsible for wiping almost 30 points off the index.

Suncor Energy Inc. and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. were the next-two most influential laggards Friday.   

Aurora Cannabis Inc. was the biggest percentage mover on the TSX, as its shares fell 8.12 per cent to $1.81. Shares in other major cannabis producers including Canopy Growth Corp., Cronos Group Ins., and Tilray Brands Inc. all shed around six to seven per cent of their value. It was another wild week for the pot growers amid fleeting optimism about the outlook for decriminalization in the United States.

Markets in New York were down Friday. The S&P 500 fell 0.93 per cent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.43 per cent lower and the Nasdaq was down 1.87 per cent.

The dour mood for tech was set by Snapchat parent Snap Inc. after it missed revenue estimates in the second quarter amid a significant slowdown in ad spending. Its shares sank 39.08 per cent to US$9.96 per share on the New York Stock Exchange.

Snap wasn’t the only U.S. tech giant that struggled with online advertising in the latest quarter.

Twitter Inc. said in a release, “advertising industry headwinds associated with the macro environment as well as uncertainty related to the pending acquisition of Twitter by an affiliate of Elon Musk” weighed on its results. However, its shares inched up 0.81 per cent as the ongoing legal battle over Musk’s attempt to end the takeover overshadows the company’s quarterly performance.

The lackluster results from those social media giants weighed on other U.S. tech stocks including Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. and Google owner Alphabet Inc., as more than US$130 billion was wiped off market values.

“Looking at today's action, it was social media and telephone companies that really dragged things down, and [they] were quite successful at it,” John Stoltzfus, the chief investment strategist and managing director at Oppenheimer Asset Management, said in an interview.

Stoltzfus said he prefers cyclical stocks to defensive stocks in the current environment.

“We're looking for consumer discretionary, technology, industrials and financials, which have been the best performers in this recent rally since the beginning of July through today’s close,” he said.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 1.48 per cent Friday, hitting US$94.92 per barrel.

Jonathan Corpina, senior managing partner at Meridian Equity Partners, said he’s not investing heavily in energy stocks right now, due to recent swings in oil prices.

“I think there's too much variables that are in there now to really get into that area, in that sector, until we start to see some stability,” he said in an interview Friday.

The Canadian dollar was at 77.42 cents U.S., down 0.37 per cent.

Statistics Canada said retail sales climbed 2.2 per cent to $62.2 billion in May, led by sales at gas stations and new car dealerships. The data agency also estimated sales growth slowed to 0.3 per cent in June.

In a report to clients, Nikita Perevalov, director of economic forecasting at Bank of Nova Scotia, said the retail sales report fails “to counter the narrative of a creeping consumer fatigue in the face of high inflation.”