Following a dramatic drop and a minor recovery Friday morning, the Canadian market once again experienced a slump, but gradually climbed to close out the day's session with only a slight dip.
The slight dip came as a result of a higher-than-anticipated increase in U.S. non-farm payroll employment for January, reducing the likelihood of an early decrease in interest rates by the Federal Reserve. Meanwhile, traders celebrated the strong jobs data and an upturn in consumer sentiment, contributing to a robust close for the U.S. market.
Energy stocks were hit due to uncertainty about the future demand for oil from the world's second largest economy and the potential impact of increased interest rates on U.S. economic growth. Gold stocks too suffered due to a stronger dollar. The S&P/TSX Composite Index, which plunged to a low of 20,943.08 (a loss of over 160 points) earlier in the day, closed the session at 21,085.09, marking a slight loss of 34.12 points or 0.16%. Throughout the week, the index gained approximately 0.3%.
Several companies including Paramount Resources, Agnico Eagle Mines, Canadian Natural Resources, Tourmaline Oil Corp and Brookfield Renewable Corporation saw their stocks fall between 3 to 4.2%. Newmont Corporation, BCE Inc, Franco-Nevada Corporation, Cameco Corporation, Cogeco Communications, West Fraser Timber, and Colliers International also experienced a decrease in their stock prices by 1.3 to 3%.
On a positive note, Shopify Inc experienced a significant surge of 8.7%, Aritzia Inc climbed 6.5%, goeasy rallied 2.75% and TFI International advanced by 2.3%. Stocks for Canadian Tire Corporation, CGI Inc, and Constellation Software also increased between 1.1 to 1.4%.
The Labor Department revealed that non-farm payroll employment surged by 353,000 jobs in January, far above the predicted increase of 180,000 jobs. The unemployment rate remained steady at 3.7%, countering the expectation that it would rise to 3.8%.
