CHICAGO (MarketWatch)- Canadian equities edged lower Wednesday after Statistics Canada reported an unexpected decline in June retail sales. The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 6 points, or 0.05%, to 12,110. Data showed that retail sales fell 0.4% from May, and that general merchandise store receipts contributed most to the overall decline, down 1.5% . The market was expecting a 0.1% increase in retail sales, according to TD Securities. "Consumption growth has slowed in the first half of this year, a sign perhaps that households are becoming more circumspect," said David Madani, Canada economist for Capital Economics. Madani attributed consumer wariness to the global economic downturn and the grim outlook for Canada's housing market. Among the decliners in Toronto were the S&P/TSX Capped Industrials index /zigman2/quotes/210598464/delayed XX:TORGC193 +0.23% , which fell 0.4% and the S&P/TSX Capped Energy index /zigman2/quotes/210598495/delayed XX:TORGC187 +0.99% , which declined 0.3%. Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. /zigman2/quotes/203742161/delayed CA:CNQ +0.91% and Royal Bank of Canada /zigman2/quotes/200638870/delayed CA:RY +1.29% each lost 0.6%.
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