India, July 18 -- The Canadian market is down in negative territory in early afternoon trades on Friday, with stocks from communications, industrials and consumer discretionary sectors under pressure.

However, the downside is limited as tariff concerns have eased a bit on reports that trade talks between Canada and South American countries, including Brazil and Argentina are in advanced stages.

Also, Canadian Primer Minister Mark Carney is in talks with U.S. President Donald Trump to arrive at a trade agreement before the August 1 deadline.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which posted a new record high at 27,422.06 this morning, dropped to a low of 27,332.81, and was at 27,326.73 a little while ago, down 60.20 points or 0.23% from...