The TSX ended a tumultuous week with a loss of more than 300 points as traders finally addressed domestic employment and U.S. payroll figures, which could impact the interest rate trajectory for both economies.
Stronger-than-anticipated U.S. payroll data raised concerns about a very cautious stance on interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year. U.S. payrolls increased by 256,000 last month, surpassing the 155,000-rise expected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The unemployment rate, expected to stay at 4.2 per cent, dropped to 4.1 per cent.
Meanwhile, Statistics Canada reported that the economy added 91,000 jobs (a 0.4 per cent increase) in December. The unemployment rate decreased by 0.1 percentage point to 6.7 per cent.
Wall Street stocks declined as the jobs report dampened hopes for additional interest rate cuts from the Fed this year. The Venture Exchange needs a séance.
The Canadian dollar traded for 69.30 cents US compared to 69.50 cents US on Thursday.
US crude futures traded $2.72 higher at US$76.65 a barrel, and the Brent contract rose $2.81 to US$79.73 a barrel.
The price of gold was up US$18.50 to US$2,689.82.
In world markets, the Nikkei was down 414.69 points to 39,190.40, the Hang Seng was down 176.60 points to 19,064.29, the FTSE was down 71.20 points to 8,248.49, and the DAX was down 102.31 points to 20,214.79.
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(Top image generated with AI.)