The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that U.S. and Canadian stocks closed slightly lower on Thursday as investors gauged the latest round of economic data and the Federal Reserve's policy statement against tariff concerns. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says that selling pressure has intensified in recent weeks after a string of economic indicators signalled the economy and consumer sentiment may be cooling as the Trump administration imposes reciprocal trade tariffs. The central bank said it sees slower economic growth and at least temporarily higher inflation. "The news is very volatile," said Stephen Massocca at Wedbush Securities in San Francisco. "We're putting a bottom in here, but when I survey the near-term news flow, I don't have a lot of hope that we're going to suddenly leap out of this." U.S. economic data on Thursday showed weekly initial jobless claims increased slightly last week. The S&P/TSX Composite Index ended down 8.97 at 25,060.24, after posting on Wednesday its biggest advance in seven months. Prime Minister Mark Carney is poised to call a snap federal election. Toronto has added 1.3 per cent since the beginning of the year, while the S&P 500 has declined 3.7 per cent.