TSX Fails To Hold Early Gains, Ends Modestly Lower

The Canadian market ended modestly lower on Friday, weighed down a bit by the mixed batch of economic data from Canada and the U.S.

Consumer staples and energy stocks closed a bit weak. Shares from the rest of the sectors ended mixed.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which climbed to 21,892.06 – a fresh 52-week high – in early trades, ended the day’s session with a loss of 57.03 points or 0.26% at 21,737.53. The index gained about 0.85% in the week.

Data from Statistics Canada showed employment in Canada rose by 40,700 in February, after seeing an addition of 37,300 jobs in January. The data showed the unemployment rate in Canada rose to 5.8% in February, up from 5.7% in January.

Average hourly earnings for permanent employees in Canada increased by 4.9% yoy to reach $35.51 in February, slowing from 5.3% increase in January.

A separate data from Statistics Canada showed Canadian industries operated at 78.7% of their production capacity in the fourth quarter of 2023, lower than the downwardly revised 78.8% in the prior period.

The Labor Department said U.S. non-farm payroll employment surged by 275,000 jobs in February, while economists had expected employment to jump by 200,000 jobs.

However, the report also said job growth in December and January was downwardly revised to 290,000 and 229,000 jobs, respectively, reflecting a net downward revision of 167,000 jobs. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate rose to 3.9% in February from 3.7% in January.

Cameco Corporation (CCO.TO) dropped more than 6%. Alimentation Couche-Tard (ATD.TO), Ag Growth International (AFN.TO), Celestica Inc (CLS.TO), Rogers Communications (RCI.A.TO) and Tourmaline Oil Corp (TOU.TO) drifted down 2 to 3%.

Brp Inc (DOO.TO), TFI International (TFII.TO), Constellation Software (CSU.TO), Kinaxis Inc (KXS.TO) and Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO) also ended notably lower.

Softchoice Corporation (SFTC.TO) climbed 5.8%. Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC.TO) gained nearly 5%. AutoCanada (ACQ.TO) advanced…