Canadian Stocks Tumble As Upbeat Jobs Data Raises Interest Rate Concerns

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks are down sharply on Friday with stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data raising concerns that the Federal Reserve will likely hold interest rates unchanged from current levels for sometime.

Also, a buoyant Canadian employment reports has dimmed the prospects for further easing by the Canadian central bank for now.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is down 358.70 points or 1.43% at 24,714.66 about a quarter past noon.

Healthcare, technology, financials, communicatins, utilities and real estate stocks are down sharply. Several stocks from consumer staples sector are also notably lower. Energy stocks are up thanks to higher crude oil prices.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index

Data from Statistics Canada showed employment in Canada advanced by 91,000 in December 2024, the largest gain since January 2023, following a 51,000 rise in the previous month.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in Canada dropped to 6.7% in December, from 6.8% a month earlier.

Data from the Labor Department showed U.S. non-farm payroll employment surged by 256,000 in December, after jumping by a downwardly revised 212,000 jobs in November. The unemployment rate in the U.S. edged down to 4.1% in December from 4.2% in November. The rate was expected to come in unchanged.

Telesat Corporation (TSAT.TO), Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO), Brookfield Asset Management (BAM.TO), Propel Holdings (PRL.TO), Ag Growth International (AFN.TO) and Colliers International (CIGI.TO) are down 3 to 6%.

goeasy (GSY.TO), TC Energy Corporation (TRP.TO), Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc (ATD.TO), Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO), WSP Global (WSP.TO), Sun Life Financial (SLF.TO), Thomson Reuters Corporation (TRI.TO), ONEX Corporation (ONEX.TO), Kinaxis Inc (KXS.TO), George Weston (WN.TO) and Loblaw Companies (L.TO) are down 1 to 3%.

Aritzia Inc (ATZ.TO) is up with a hefty gain of 12.3% after reporting a 57.5% jump in adjusted net income at 83.0 million for the third quarter, compared to a year ago.

Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC.TO), Maple Leaf Foods (MFI.TO)Aura Minerals (ORA.TO), Gildan Activewear (GIL.TO), MEG Energy Corp (MEG.TO), Lundin Gold (LUG.TO) and Suncor Energy (SU.TO) are gaining 2 to 5%.

Corus Entertainment Inc. (CJR.B.TO) reported a net income of $11.9 million for the quarter ended November 30, 2024, compared to $32.7 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Tilray Brands Inc. (TLRY.TO) is plunging more than 12% after the company reported adjusted net loss of $2 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2025, compared to adjusted net loss of $3 million in the prior year quarter.