Canada's main stock index opened subdued on Friday, pressured by consumer stocks, as investors paused after two weeks of record rallies and turned their focus to a potential interest-rate cut by the Bank of Canada next week.
The TSX Composite Index gave up 58.09 points to open the week’s last session at 29,349.80
The Canadian dollar sagged 0.04 cents to 72.25 cents U.S.
The odds that the BoC will also resume its easing cycle on September 17 rose after data released last Friday showed that Canada's economy shed 65,500 jobs in August, while the unemployment rate climbed to 7.1%.
Staying in the macroeconomic realm, Statistics Canada reported in July, the total value of building permits issued in Canada edged down $10.8 million (-0.1%) to $11.9 billion.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange edged up 4.55 points to 880.32.
Seven of the 12 subgroups were negative in the first hour, as industrial, information technology and consumer staples each demurred 0.5%.
The five gainers were led by energy, up 0.5%, while real-estate and materials each edged up 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 was little changed on Friday after the market surged to fresh records as investors took signs of weakening jobs and tame inflation to mean the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates next week.
The Dow Jones Industrials decreased in value 147.83 points, to kick off the week’s last session at 45,960.17.
The much broader index inched 0.92 points to 6,588.39
The NASDAQ index gathered 68.76 points to 22,111.87.
The consumer price index showed a month-to-month increase of 0.4% for August, hotter than the 0.3% that economists polled by Dow Jones were expecting. However, the index’s 2.9% rise on a 12-month basis was in line with expectations.
The usually crucial inflation report was overshadowed by weekly jobless claims, which showed a surprise jump to the highest level since October 2021.
Workers filing for unemployment compensation for the week ended Sept. 6 increased 27,000 to 263,000, more than the 235,000 total expected.
The S&P 500 and NASDAQ are up about 1.6% week to date, while the Dow has risen 1.5%.
The S&P 500 is on pace for its best weekly performance since early August and its fifth positive week in six, and the NASDAQ is on track for its second winning week in a row.
The Dow is also poised to post its first positive week in three.
Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery rose $1.91, or 11.8%, to $18.08, in the pre-market on Friday, a day after the stock saw its best day on record.
Prices for 10-year Treasury sagged, raising yields to 4.06% from Thursday’s 4.02%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $1.07 to $63.44 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices recovered $18.00 to $3,601.60 U.S. an ounce.
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