TSX Posts New Closing High On Widespread Buying

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market ended on a strong note on Friday, with stocks from across several sectors moving higher on sustained buying interest. The mood was quite positive right through the day's session with investors digesting the jobs data from the U.S. and Canada.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a gain of 212.59 points or 0.96% at 22,264.38 a new closing high. The index touched a new intraday high of 22,316.92. It gained about 0.43% in the week.

Materials, consumer staples, technology, energy, healthcare, consumer discretionary and real estate stocks were among the major gainers.

Newmont Corporation (NGT.TO) gained about 5.5%. Methanex Corporation (MX.TO), Kinaxis Inc (KXS.TO), Dollarama Inc (DOL.TO), Franco-Nevada Corporation (FNV.TO), Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO), Constellation Software (CSU.TO) and EQB Inc (EQB.TO) gained 2.5 to 4%.

George Weston (WN.TO), Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO), goeasy (GSY.TO), Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO), Loblaw Companies (L.TO) and FirstService Corporation (FSV.TO) advanced 1 to 2%.

Canopy Growth Corporation (WEED.TO), B2Gold Corp (BTO.TO), Lundin Mining Corporation (LUN.TO), Barrick Gold Corporation (ABX.TO), Kinross Gold Corporation (K.TO), Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) and Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) moved up sharply on strong volumes.

Data from Statistics Canada showed employment in Canada edged down by 2,200 jobs in March, following a 40,700 gain in February. Economists had expected an addition of 25,000 jobs in March.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in Canada jumped to 6.1% in March from 5.8% in the previous month. The 6.1% reading is the highest since October of 2021. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to come in at 5.9%.

Average hourly wages in Canada rose 5% in March, after rising 4.9% in the previous month.

A report from the Ivey Business School said the Ivey Purchasing Managers Index in Canada increased to 57.5 in March, up from 53.9 in February, rising for the eighth consecutive month. The figure was also the highest in a year.

The U.S. Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment spiked by 303,000 jobs in March after surging by a downwardly revised 270,000 jobs in February. Economists had expected employment to jump by 200,000 jobs compared to the addition of 275,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The report also said the unemployment rate edged down to 3.8% in March from 3.9% in February, while economists had expected the unemployment rate to come in unchanged.

The Labor Department said the annual rate of wage growth slowed to 4.1% in March from 4.3% in February, in line with estimates.