Bay Street Likely To See Some Early Volatility; Canadian, U.S. Jobs Data In Focus

(RTTNews) - Weak Asian and European cues point to a negative start for Canadian shares on Friday, but jobs data from the U.S. and Canada are set to make a significant impact on investor sentiment as the reports could provide clues about the likely interest rate moves by the Bank of Canada and the Federal Reserve at their upcoming monetary policy meetings this year.

The U.S. non-farm payroll data for the month of March is due at 8:30 AM ET. Economists currently expect employment to jump by 200,000 jobs in March after surging by 275,000 jobs in February, while the unemployment rate is expected to hold at 3.9%.

Canadian jobs data for the month of March is due at 8:30 AM ET. The Canadian economy saw an addition of 40,700 jobs in February 2024, following a 37,300 reading in January. The unemployment rate in Canada rose to 5.8% in February 2024, up from 5.7% reported in January.

A report on average hourly wages is also due at 8:30 AM ET.

AT 10 AM ET, the Ivey Business School will release the Ivey Purchasing Managers Index reading for the month of March. The Ivey Purchasing Managers Index in Canada declined to 53.9 in February 2024, down from 56.5 in January, but still indicated the seventh consecutive month of expansion in Canadian economic activity.

After hitting a record high, the Canadian market retreated and ended on a weak note on Thursday, as traders chose to trim down positions ahead of crucial Canadian and U.S. jobs data.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which climbed to 22,239.05, fell to 22,00.98 before finally settling at 220,051.79, recording a loss of 60.67 points or 0.27%.

Asian stocks tracked overnight declines on Wall Street to end lower on Friday as hawkish comments from a trio of Fed policymakers as well as rising oil prices spurred more uncertainty about the outlook for U.S. interest rates.

European stocks are down firmly in negative territory Friday afternoon, weighed down by hawkish comments from some Fed officials Federal Reserve officials, and escalating tensions in the Middle East.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are down marginally at $86.59 a barrel.

Gold futures are up $2.60 or 0.11% at $2,311.10 an ounce, while Silver futures are down $0.382 or 1.4% at $26.865 an ounce.