Stocks in Canada and the U.S. finished lower on Friday, with volumes light in both countries as many market players appeared to leave early.

In Toronto, the S&P/TSX composite index was off 12.28 points, or 0.18%, to 6979.12. Volume was light at 179.9 million shares as many traders headed out ahead of the Canada Day holiday on Tuesday.

Canadian equities didn’t fall as far as their U.S. counterparts, despite news that the economy contracted in April. Tech and communications stocks took some of the biggest hits, with Nortel down more than 4%, while ATI and Shaw were also off. Amongst the most heavily traded stocks, Bombardier, Placer Dome, the big telcos and the banks were positive.

The dollar was up, closing at US74.28¢ from US73.76¢ on Thursday.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index gained 1.02 points, or 0.09%, to 1107.62. Among the most active companies on the Venture Exchange, Grey Island Systems rose $0.09 to $0.35, International Majescor Resources $0.12 to $0.41; Verena Minerals fell $0.01 to $0.025, North Pacific Geopower $0.005 to $0.02.

In the U.S. stocks ended lower on Friday, as money managers locked in profits from a recent rally and adjusted their portfolios ahead of Monday, the last day of the second quarter.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 89.99 points, or 0.99%, at 8989.05, according to the latest available data. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 9.6 points, or 0.97%, to 976.22. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index shed 8.73 points, or 0.53%, to 1625.28.

For the week, the blue-chip Dow slipped 2.3%, the S&P 500 fell 1.96%, and the Nasdaq lost 1.18%.

Trading volume was relatively light, with many market players leaving work early ahead of the weekend. The light volume appeared to add to the market’s volatility and contributed to some of its declines.

Tenet Healthcare Corp. and Avery Dennison Corp. led declines in the week after cutting their profit forecasts. Eli Lilly & Co. fell today after Merrill Lynch & Co. said sales of its biggest drug may disappoint next year and trimmed its earnings estimate.