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Roundup: Canadian stock market tumbles over weak job data

Xinhua, September 5, 2015 Adjust font size:

Canada's main stock market resumed the losing streak Friday after a two-day rise as the latest job data showed higher unemployment rate in August.

Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index lost 118.10 points or 0.87 percent to 13,478.31 points on the closing bell. The market will be closed next Monday due to Canada's Labour Day.

Statistics Canada reported on Friday that Canada added 12,000 jobs or 0.1 percent in August, but the unemployment rate increased 0.2 percentage points to 7.0 percent, after staying steady at 6.8 percent for six consecutive months.

"It is not a positive economic sign that the more cyclical industries like construction and manufacturing are shedding jobs," said Leslie Preston, an economist from TD Bank.

Health Care, up 1.2 percent, was the only gainer among the eight most weighed sectors in TSX, when investors were looking for shares to fend off risks in their portfolio.

Financials, the most influential sector, plunged 1.22 percent when big banks tumbled. Royal Bank of Canada declined 1.49 percent to 70.88 Canadian dollars (about 53.44 U.S. dollars) while TD Bank lost 1.31 percent to 51.11 Canadian dollars per share.

The mining sector suffered the biggest loss of 5.29 percent when basic metals producers Teck Resources Ltd. shed 9.33 percent to 8.16 Canadian dollars, and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. dropped 6.34 percent to 6.20 Canadian dollars.

Other losers included energy and info tech, down 0.67 percent and 0.95 percent respectively.

Investors are waiting for new clues from the interest rate announcement by Bank of Canada next Wednesday.

"We expect the Bank of Canada to remain on hold on Wednesday with the overnight rate unchanged at 0.5 percent," according to a report issued by Scotiabank on Friday. The Canadian central bank should be much more encouraged by the recent GDP data that is reinforcing expectations for renewed economic growth in the third quarter.

On the currency front, the Canadian dollar edged down to 0.7539 U.S. dollar Friday, compared with 0.7579 U.S. dollar Thursday. Endit