The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, Aug. 7, edition that Canadian stocks finished lower on Thursday as investors digested the latest round of corporate earnings and looked for signs of progress toward a peace deal in the Middle East. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe reports that a robust earnings season, which has tempered some concerns about the massive spending by artificial intelligence-related companies, and growing optimism over the potential end of Mideast hostilities helped propel the TSX to record highs earlier this week. On Thursday, oil prices rose, with U.S. crude settling up 2.75 per cent at $77.29 (U.S.) a barrel and Brent settling at $82.49 (U.S.) a barrel, up 3.83 per cent. The S&P/TSX Composite Index ended down 10.11 points at 36,136.31. The TSX technology sector fell 1.5 per cent, with shares of Celestica down nearly 13 per cent after the company announced the pricing of an equity offering. Consumer discretionary lost 1.8 per cent in Toronto and industrials ended 0.7 per cent lower. Just two of the 10 major TSX sectors notched gains, including the materials group. It added 0.5 per cent, while energy ended 0.6 per cent higher.