Canada’s main stock index tumbled on Friday after worse-than-expected job numbers in the United States added to recession fears amid a global downturn. Energy declines led the sharp drop on the TSX while telecom and utilities gains kept the session from ending as a broad decline. Markets in Toronto will be closed Monday for the Civic Holiday.
It was the same story south of the border where U.S. markets also plummeted, as the Labor Bureau reported that nonfarm payrolls increased by 114,000 jobs last month. Economists polled by Dow Jones had expected growth of 185,000 jobs, which was also down from June’s gain of 206,000. The unemployment rate is important for traders as the higher it gets, the chance of a recession also rises.
Overseas markets also sunk, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 index losing 5.8 per cent, falling back to January levels as investors panicked over signs of weakness in the U.S. economy.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.11 cents U.S. compared with 72.08 cents U.S. on Thursday.
U.S. crude futures traded $2.41 lower at $73.90 a barrel, and the Brent contract lost $2.35 to $77.17 a barrel.
The price of gold was down US$9.50 to US$2,436.78.
In world markets, the Nikkei was down 2,216.63 points to 35,909.70, the Hang Seng was down 359.45 points to 16,945.51, the FTSE was down 119.51 points to 8,163.85, and the DAX was down 440.91 points to 17,642.14.
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(Top image: File)