Bay Street Looks Headed For A Mixed Start

(RTTNews) - Jobs data from Canada and the U.S. hold the key for stocks on Bay Street on Friday. Metal stocks may move up on firm gold and silver prices, while oil stocks are likely to remain a bit subdued early on due to weak oil prices.

The Canadian jobs data for the month of November is due out at 8:30 AM ET. The Labor Department's non-farm payroll data for November is also due at 8:30 AM ET.

The Canadian economy added 14,500 jobs in October 2024, following a 46,700 increase in September.

The unemployment rate in Canada came in at 6.5% in October, unchanged from a month earlier.

A reading of the IVEY Purchasing Managers Index is due at 10 AM ET. The Ivey Purchasing Managers Index in Canada eased to 52 in October, from 53.1 in the prior month.

In earnings news, Laurentian Bank of Canada (LB.TO) reported a net loss of $5.5 million and a diluted loss per share of $0.41 for the year ended October 31, 2024, compared with net income of $181.1 million and diluted earnings per share of $3.89 for the year ended October 31, 2023 .

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, Laurentian Bank reported net income of $40.7 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.88, compared with net income of $30.6 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.67 for the fourth quarter of 2023.

Canadian Western Bank (CWB.TO), which was scheduled to report its earnings today, has announced that it will announce its earnings in mid-December.

BRP Inc (DOO.TO) reported a net income of $27.3 million for the third-quarter, a decrease of 69.7% compared to the year-ago quarter.

The Canadian market hit new intraday and closing highs on Thursday even as the mood remained somewhat cautious with investors looking ahead to crucial Canadian and U.S. employment data due on Friday.

Energy, utilities and consumer staples stocks contributed to market's positive close. Consumer discretionary, real estate and materials stocks were a bit subdued. Financials stocks witnessed some brisk activity with investors reacting to quarterly earnings updates from major banks.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which posted a new high 25,760.15 around mid afternoon, gave up some gains, and settled at 25,680.04, up 38.86 points or 0.15% from Wednesday's close.

Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday, with Chinese and Hong Kong markets outperforming ahead of an annual economic policy meeting scheduled for next week.

A cautious undertone prevailed ahead of a U.S. jobs report due later in the day that might shift expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts.

European stocks are broadly higher amid optimism the French government will pass a new budget within a matter of weeks.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he will appoint a new prime minister in the coming days and will get the 2025 budget adopted by parliament.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are down $0.68 or 1% at $67.62 a barrel.

Gold futures are gaining $12.00 or 0.45% at $2,660.40 an ounce, while Silver futures are up $0.154 or 0.48% at $31.690 an ounce.