Canadian Market Likely To See Mixed Open

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market is likely to open on a mixed note on Friday with investors taking direction from jobs data from the U.S. and Canada.

The Labor Department's jobs data for the month of July is due out at 8:30 AM ET. The report is is expected to show employment increased by 250,000 jobs in July after jumping by 372,000 jobs in June. The unemployment rate is expected to hold at 3.6%.

The Canadian employment data is also due at 8:30 AM ET. The Canadian economy shed 43,200 jobs in June of 2022 against expectations for a 23,500 rise.

The Canadian unemployment rate came in at 4.9% in May, down from 5.1% in the prior month. The unemployment rate is expected to be around 5% in July.

In earnings news, Telus Corporation (T.TO) reported a net profit of $498 million for the quarter ended 30 June 2022, compared with a net profit of $344 million a year ago.

Telus International (Cda) Inc. (TIXT.TO) reported second-quarter net income of $56 million, compared with $16 million in the same quarter last year.

Premium Brands Holdings Corporation (PBH.TO) reported record second quarter adjusted EBITDA of $130.8 million, representing a 16.6%, or $18.6 million, increase as compared to the second quarter of 2021.

Canopy Growth Corp. (WEED.TO) reported that its first-quarter net loss attributable to the company was C$2.08 million or C$5.23 per share, compared to net income of C$0.39 million or C$0.84 per share in the prior-year quarter.

TransAlta Corp (TA.TO) reported net loss of $80 million or $0.30 per share for the second quarter, compared to net loss of $0.04 per share in the year-ago quarter.

The Canadian market ended slightly up on Thursday after a moving above the flat line for almost the entire duration of the day's session.The mood was largely cautious ahead of the crucial U.S. jobs data, due on Friday, and investors mostly made their moves, tracking quarterly earnings updates.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a gain of 31.10 points or 0.16% at 19,577.04. The index moved in a tight band between 19,538.08 and 19,619.14.

Asian stocks closed higher as investors awaited an update on the U.S. jobs market later in the day for clues on the pace of monetary policy tightening going ahead. Chinese shares rallied as tech companies jumped on expectations that the China-Taiwan standoff might increase global chip shortage. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index jumped 1.19 percent to 3,227.03.

European stocks are quite sluggish with investors looking for direction amid rising tensions between the U.S. and China, and eyeing the non-farm payroll data from the U.S.

In commodities trading, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September are down $0.21 or 0.25% at $88.33 a barrel.

Gold futures are down $2.50 or 0.14% at $1,804.40 an ounce, while Silver futures are down $0.022 or 0.11% at $20.100 an ounce.