TSX Ends Marginally Higher

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market ended marginally up on Thursday after a cautious session. Volumes were somewhat thin ahead of a long weekend.

Stronger than expected Canadian jobs data aided sentiment. Investors looked ahead to the crucial U.S. non-farm payrolls data, due on Friday.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a gain of 37.14 points or 0.18% at 20,196.69 after scaling a low of 20,099.80 and a high of 20,201.63 intraday.

North West Company Inc (NWC.TO) shares climbed about 5.4%. Teck Resources (TECK.B.TO) surged 4.3%. CCL Industries (CCL.B.TO), WSP Global Inc (WSP.TO), Bombardier Inc (BBD.B.TO), Tourmaline Oil Corp (TOU.TO), Colliers International (CIGI.TO) and Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC.A.TO) gained 1.5 to 2.2%.

Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO), FirstService Corporation (FSV.TO), Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) and Constellation Software (CSU.TO) also ended notably higher.

ATS Corporation (ATS.TO), Nutrien (NTR.TO), Precision Drilling Corporation (PD.TO), Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO), Finning International (FTT.TO) and Cargojet (CJT.TO) ended lower by 2 to 5%.

Data released by Statistics Canada this morning showed the Canadian economy added 35,000 jobs in March 2023, much higher than the expected addition.

The unemployment rate in Canada was at 5% for the fourth consecutive month in March, remaining close to the record low of 4.9% seen in June and July 2022.

Meanwhile, average weekly earnings for permanent employees in Canada increased by 5.2% from a year earlier, after a 5.4% rise in the prior month.

A report from Richard Ivey School of Business said the Ivey Purchasing Managers Index in Canada jumped to 58.2 in March 2023, from 51.6 in February, beating market forecasts of 56.1.