FX.co ★ Canadian Market Up Firmly In Positive Territory After Jobs Data

Amid concerns surrounding Canada's employment rates and economic outlook, the Canadian market was assertively positive in late morning trading on a recent Friday. The rise was mainly powered by gains in materials, technology, and consumer sector stocks. These gains came in the wake of new data revealing a decline in Canadian employment and an increased unemployment rate, leading to reduced concerns about future interest rates.

In addition, there was a positive reaction among the investors to the encouraging non-farm payroll figures from the U.S. However, these numbers have also amplified concerns over the future of the Federal Reserve's interest rates. Nevertheless, the report pointed to a steady slowing down of the annual rate of wage growth.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index, the benchmark for Canada, saw an uptick of 156.75 points or 0.71%, reaching a new record high of 22,246.15.

The Materials Capped Index observed a 1.75% increase. Stocks from various companies such as Iamgold Corp, Oceanagold Corp, Fortuna Silver Mines and Pan American Silver Corp experienced an upward trend ranging from 4 to 4.5%. Additionally, stocks of companies such as Novagold, B2Gold Corp, New Gold, Silvercrest Metals, Wesdome Gold Mines, Methanex, MAG Silver Corp and First Majestic Silver Corp saw a rise in the 3 to 3.75% range.

Among technology stocks, Dye & Durham, Lightspeed Commerce, Celestica Inc., Kinaxis Inc., and Constellation Software observed gains between 2% and 3.4%. Other companies such as Shopify Inc., Converge Technology Solutions, Docebo Inc., and Open Text Corp. also reported substantial gains.

Statistics Canada data revealed that the country's employment dipped by 2,200 jobs in March, following a February increase of 40,700 jobs. The expectation was for an addition of 25,000 jobs in March. Concurrently, the Canadian unemployment rate rose to 6.1% in March from 5.8% in the preceding month — the highest since October 2021. The forecast for the unemployment rate was 5.9%.

The average hourly wages in Canada saw an increase of 5% in March, following a 4.9% increase the month before.

A report issued by the Ivey Business School highlighted that the Ivey Purchasing Managers Index in Canada climbed for the eighth consecutive month to 57.5 in March, up from 53.9 in February. This figure is the highest recorded in a year.

The U.S. Labor Department stated that non-farm payroll employment jumped by 303,000 jobs in March, following a revised increase of 270,000 jobs in February. The expectation was for an addition of 200,000 jobs. The same report further indicated that the unemployment rate in the U.S. dropped slightly to 3.8% in March from 3.9% in February, despite predictions of an unchanged rate. The annual rate of wage growth slowed to 4.1% in March, down from 4.3% in February, aligning with estimates.