TSX Ends 0.8% Down As Energy, Financials Shares Decline

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market snapped a three-day winning streak and ended weak on Friday, weighed down by losses in energy sector after oil prices drifted lower. Investors digested the jobs data from the U.S. and Canada, and assessed the outlook for interest rates.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended down 184.99 points or 0.83% at 22,059.03, the day's low. The index gained about 0.85% in the week.

The Energy Capped Index fell 2.43%. Kelt Exploration (KEL.TO) dropped 5.55%. Parex Resources (PXT.TO), Suncor Energy (SU.TO), Veren (VRN.TO), Vermilion Energy (VET.TO), International Petroleum Corp (IPCO.TO), Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO), Imperial Oil (IMO.TO), MEG Energy (MEG.TO) and Precision Drilling Corp (PD.TO) ended down 2.5 to 4%.

In the financials sector, Power Corporation of Canada (POW.TO), Goeasy (GSY.TO), Brookfield Asset Management (BAM.TO), Laurentian Bank (LB.TO), Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO), Onex Corp (ONEX.TO), Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO), CDN Western Bank (CWB.TO), Sun Life Financial (SLF.TO) and Manulife Financial (MFC.TO) lost 1 to 2.5%.

Utilities and industrials shares were among the other major losers in the session. Several stocks from real estate and consumer discretionary sectors also closed weak.

Among the gainers, Hut 8 Corp (HUT.TO) soared 11%. Aritzia Inc (ATZ.TO) gained about 3%. Newmont Corporation (NGT.TO) climbed 2.5%. Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM.TO), Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) and Franco-Nevada Corporation (FNV.TO) also ended notably higher.

Data from Statistics Canada showed employment in Canada fell by a marginal 1,400 in June, following a 26,700 increase in the previous month. The unemployment rate rose to 6.4% in June from 6.2% in the earlier month.

The Ivey Business School said that its Purchasing Managers Index in Canada surged to 62.5 in June 2024 from 52 in the previous month, significantly surpassing market forecasts of 53. This marks the eleventh consecutive month of economic growth, the second highest in the current sequence.

In U.S., the Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment shot up by 206,000 jobs in June compared to economist estimates for an increase of about 190,000 jobs. The report also showed the increases in employment in April and May were downwardly revised to 108,000 jobs and 218,000 jobs, respectively, reflecting a net downward revision of 111,000 jobs.

The unemployment rate also rose for the third straight month, inching up to 4.1% in June from 4% in May. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged. With the unexpected uptick, the unemployment rate reached its highest level since hitting a matching rate in November 2021.