The heavyweight industrials sector, backed by a drop in utilities and telecom shares, took enough wind out of the TSX’s sails on Thursday. Mining stocks led enough of a rally supported by a meagre increase across the board kept Canada’s main stock index flat for much of the day.
Despite the muted performance, markets have had a tough week, and the rollercoaster continues as Friday brings domestic employment figures, which will set the tone for policy easing by the Bank of Canada. South of the border, traders are waiting for the US non-farm payrolls report, since it can show trends in inflation and the Federal Reserve’s policy rate trajectory. In its last monetary policy meeting, the Fed indicated a more cautious approach to rate cuts, with traders now anticipating the first reduction this year to occur in either May or June.
The Canadian dollar traded for $69.50 cents US compared to 69.55 cents US on Wednesday.
US crude futures traded $0.84 higher at US$74.16 a barrel, and the Brent contract rose $0.97 to US$77.13 a barrel.
The price of gold was up US$13.11 to US$2,669.32.
In world markets, the Nikkei was down 375.97 points to 39,605.09, the Hang Seng was down 38.95 points to 19,240.89, the FTSE was up 68.66 points to 8,319.69, and the DAX was down 12.84 points to 20,317.10.
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(Top image generated with AI.)