The Canadian stock market closed lower on Friday, with declines in energy and materials sectors attributed to weakening commodity prices. This downturn occurred as the U.S. dollar strengthened on expectations that the Federal Reserve will adopt a less aggressive approach to rate cuts during Donald Trump's second presidential term.
Among other sectors, industrial stocks were notable decliners, while several stocks from utilities, communications, consumer discretionary, and technology sectors showed robust gains.
Investors were processing Canadian employment data alongside a flurry of corporate earnings reports.
The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index fell by 86.53 points, marking a 0.35% decrease to close at 24,759.40. During the session, the index hit a low of 24,679.72 and a high of 24,804.26, rounding off the week with a 2.1% gain.
According to Statistics Canada, employment rose by 14,500 jobs in October, following a 46,700 increase in the previous month. The unemployment rate held steady at 6.5%.
Average hourly earnings in Canada increased to C$36.73 in October, up from C$36.54 the previous month.
Among individual stocks, Teck Resources (TECK.A.TO), Stantec (STN.TO), and WSP Global (WSP.TO) experienced declines ranging from 4.3% to 4.5%. Meanwhile, Franco-Nevada Corporation (FNV.TO), Stella-Jones (SJ.TO), Bombardier Inc (BBD.B.TO), West Fraser Timber (WFG.TO), Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO), iA Financial Corporation (IAG.TO), and Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) saw losses between 1.6% and 2.8%.
Conversely, Mattr Corp (MATR.TO) shares surged nearly 18% following the announcement of its acquisition of the power cable producer AmerCable from France-based Nexans for $280 million.
Molson Coors Canada Inc (TPX.B.TO) advanced approximately 4%, while RB Global (RBA.TO) rose 3.2%. Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO), Descartes Systems Group (DSG.TO), Morguard Corporation (MRC.TO), and Waste Connections (WCN.TO) posted gains of 1.5% to 2.3%.
Onex Corporation (ONEX.TO) experienced a 2.2% increase after reporting third-quarter net earnings of $127 million, down from $256 million the previous year.
Telus Corporation (T.TO) gained 3.75% following its report of a quarterly net income of $257 million, an impressive 87.6% increase compared to $137 million during the same period last year.
Docebo Inc (DCBO.TO) rose nearly 1%, reporting a net income of $5.0 million, or $0.16 per share, for the third quarter of the financial year, compared to $4.0 million, or $0.12 per share, from the corresponding period in the previous year.
Brookfield Business Partners (BBU.UN.TO) climbed nearly 5%, reporting a net income of $301 million for the quarter ending September 30, 2024, compared to a net loss of $44 million in the same quarter of the previous year.
