The Canadian market closed slightly higher on Friday, buoyed by gains in the materials, technology, and financial sectors. Positive earnings updates and optimism about potential interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve bolstered investor sentiment.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index finished with an increase of 85.69 points, or 0.39%, closing at 22,311.30. Throughout the session, the index oscillated between a low of 22,131.01 and a high of 22,324.86. For the week, the index recorded a gain of approximately 0.4%.
Lassonde Industries (LAS.A.TO) saw a notable rise of nearly 6%. Other significant gainers included CCL Industries (CCL.B.TO), Onex Corporation (ONEX.TO), Ag Growth International (AFN.TO), Bombardier Inc (BBD.B.TO), Celestica Inc (CLS.TO), and Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM.TO), which advanced between 3% and 4%.
Among the stocks with moderate increases, Stella-Jones (SJ.TO), Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO), Kinaxis Inc (KXS.TO), CGI Inc (GIB.A.TO), Descartes Systems Group (DSG.TO), and Franco-Nevada Corporation (FNV.TO) closed higher by 1% to 2.7%.
Conversely, AtkinsRealis Group Inc (ATRL.TO) shares declined by 5.8%. The company reported a second-quarter net income of C$82.2 million, or C$0.47 per share, up from C$63.8 million, or C$0.36 per share, from the same period last year.
Wajax Corporation (WJX.TO), Calian Group (CGY.TO), Russel Metals (RUS.TO), goeasy (GSY.TO), Boyd Group Services (BYD.TO), and Stantec (STN.TO) experienced losses ranging from 2% to 5%.
Statistics Canada data revealed a marginal employment decline of 2,800 jobs in July 2024, following a decrease of 1,400 jobs in the previous month. Economists had anticipated an increase of 22,500 jobs for July.
The unemployment rate in Canada remained steady at 6.4% in July, matching the January 2022 high recorded the previous month. Economist forecasts had pegged the unemployment rate at 6.5%.
Average Hourly Earnings in Canada rose by 5.2% year-over-year to C$36.36 in July, following a 5.6% increase in June.
