Canadian Market Up Firmly In Positive Territory After Jobs Data

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market is up firmly in positive territory around late morning on Friday, led by gains in materials, technology and consumer sector stocks. Data showing a drop in Canadian employment and a rise in the unemployment rate has eased concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

Investors are also reacting positively to upbeat non-farm payroll data from the U.S. Although the data has added to concerns about the outlook for Fed interest rates, the report also showed a continued slowdown in the annual rate of wage growth.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is up 156.75 points or 0.71% at 22,208.54, after hitting a fresh record high at 22,246.15.

The Materials Capped Index is up 1.75%. Iamgold Corp (IMG.TO) is up 4.7%, while Oceanagold Corp (OGC.TO), Fortuna Silver Mines (FVI.TO) and Pan American Silver Corp (PAAS.TO) are up 4 to 4.5%. Novagold (NG.TO), B2Gold Corp (BTO.TO), New Gold (NGD.TO), Silvercrest Metals (SIL.TO), Wesdome Gold Mines (WDO.TO), Methanex (MX.TO), MAG Silver Corp (MAG.TO) and First Majestic Silver Corp (FR.TO) are up 3 to 3.75%.

Technology stocks Dye & Durham (DND.TO), Lightspeed Commerce (LSPD.TO), Celestica Inc (CLS.TO), Kinaxis Inc (KXS.TO) and Constellation Software (CSU.TO) are gaining 2 to 3.4%. Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO), Converge Technology Solutions (CTS.TO), Docebo Inc (DCBO.TO) and Open Text Corp (OTEX.TO) are also up with strong gains.

Data from Statistics Canada showed employment in Canada edged down by 2,200 jobs in March, following a 40,700 gain in February. Economists had expected an addition of 25,000 jobs in March.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in Canada jumped to 6.1% in March from 5.8% in the previous month. The 6.1% reading is the highest since October of 2021. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to come in at 5.9%.

Average hourly wages in Canada rose 5% in March, after rising 4.9% in the previous month.

A report from the Ivey Business School said the Ivey Purchasing Managers Index in Canada increased to 57.5 in March, up from 53.9 in February, rising for the eighth consecutive month. The figure was also the highest in a year.

The U.S. Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment spiked by 303,000 jobs in March after surging by a downwardly revised 270,000 jobs in February. Economists had expected employment to jump by 200,000 jobs compared to the addition of 275,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The report also said the unemployment rate edged down to 3.8% in March from 3.9% in February, while economists had expected the unemployment rate to come in unchanged.

The Labor Department said the annual rate of wage growth slowed to 4.1% in March from 4.3% in February, in line with estimates.