Jobs reports impacted markets Friday, including the Toronto Stock Exchange’s favourable reaction to no change in Canada’s unemployment rate. Canada did add approximately 100 jobs in December, according to Statistics Canada, which reported the unemployment rate remained at 5.8 per cent. The TSX gained 0.32 per cent with the healthcare, energy and financial sectors leading the way and metals and industrials declining.
Another strong employment report in the United States, which added 216,000 jobs in December, spooked investors who worry it will take longer for interest rates to drop amid the humming economy. U.S. markets rallied late after spending most of the day in negative territory. The NASDAQ avoided a sixth consecutive day of declines as the tech-heavy index climbed 0.09%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.07 per cent and the S&P 500 rose 0.18 per cent.
| TSX | 20,937.55 | +66.20 |  |
| TSXV | 551.34 | -0.22 |  |
| CSE | 176.30 | +6.33 | |
| DJIA | 37,466.11 | +25.77 | |
| NASDAQ | 14,524.07 | +13.77 | |
| S&P 500 | 4,697.24 | +8.56 | |
The Canadian dollar traded for 74.82 cents U.S. compared to 74.90 cents U.S. on Thursday.
U.S. crude futures traded $1.67 higher at $73.86 a barrel, and the Brent contract gained $1.22 to $78.81 a barrel.
The price of gold was up US$1.30 to US$2,051.30.
In world markets, the Nikkei was up 89.13 points to 33,377.42, the Hang Seng was down 110.65 points to 16,535.33, the FTSE was down 33.46 points to 7,689.61, and the DAX was down 23.08 points to 16,594.21.
The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. For full disclaimer information, please click here.
