Equity markets opened lower on Friday as domestic and U.S. jobs data showed larger-than-expected increases and cemented fears of interest rates staying higher for longer, while gains in the energy and materials sector capped losses.
The TSX Composite retreated 108.62 points to begin Friday at 19,029.19.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.01 cents at 72.94 cents U.S.
Among sectors, energy shares are expected to get some relief with oil prices stable on Friday but are set to post their worst weekly losses in over seven months.
In corporate news, CIBC downgraded its price target for Air Canada to $30.00 from $33.00 over fuel hike concerns.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that the economy created 64,000 in September, following an increase of 40,000 in August. jobs in September. The unemployment rate was unchanged in September and stood at 5.5% for the third consecutive month.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange docked 1.53 points to 526.37.
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups were negative in the first hour, with health-care ailing 1.5%, real-estate weaker 1.4%, and communications lower 1.2%
Only gold held out against the negative tide, eking ahead 0.04%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell Friday as Treasury yields jumped following the release of stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data.
The Dow Jones Industrials crumbled 242.27 points to begin the week’s last session at 32,877.10.
The S&P 500 index fell 34.41 points to 4,223.78.
The NASDAQ index flopped 98.92 points to 13,123.92.
All the major averages are headed toward a losing week. The S&P 500 is down 1.4%, week to date. This is the broad market index’s fifth consecutive week of losses, which would be its longest weekly slide since May 2022. The Dow is down 1.7%, while the NASDAQ is 0.9% lower for the week.
Several large-cap tech shares fell as yields climbed higher. Nvidia and Meta Platforms fell slightly. The utilities sector, which is sensitive to high rates, fell 2.5%. AES lost 5%, while Dominion Energy and Sempra shed 2% each.
The U.S. economy added 336,000 jobs in September, the Labor Department said. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected 170,000 jobs. To be sure, wages rose less than expected last month.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury were slightly higher, lowering yields to 4.72% from Thursday’s 4.72%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices retreated $1.82 to $82.40 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices climbed $4.80 to $1,836.50.
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