Canadian shares fell on Friday amid mixed employment data on both sides of the border. The resource-heavy benchmark Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index (TSE:OSPTX) slid 0.8% to 13,491.11 at 12:06 p.m. in Toronto. Three shares declined for every issue that advanced as eight out of ten share groups were in positive territory.
Canada unexpectedly added 12,000 new jobs in August, compared to the expected drop of 4,500, but the nation's unemployment rate hit 7%, a one-year high. Job growth in the United States slowed in August, rising 173,000, while the unemployment rate declined o a near 7-1/2-year low and wages quickened. The U.S. is Canada’s largest trading partner.
The materials sub-index, which includes mining shares, was the largest laggard with a 1.4% slump. Goldcorp (TSE:G), Canada’s largest gold miner by market value, decreased 1.1% to C$17.39. Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX), Canada’s second-largest gold miner, gave up 2.1% to C$8.35.
Spot gold was down 0.4% at $1,120.80 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures for December delivery were down $4.70 at $1,119.80. The metal is on track to fall for a second week.
The energy sector, the main index's second most heavily weighted group, fell 0.5% as oil, Canada’s largest export, declined.
Suncor Energy (TSE:SU), Canada's largest oil sands producer, surrendered 0.4% to C$34.80. Enbridge (TSE:ENB), Canada's largest pipeline company, gave back 0.3% to C$53.70.
U.S. crude was down $0.41 at $46.34 a barrel.
McCoy Global (TSE:MCB) sank 5.5% to $2.92 after saying it suspended its quarterly dividend, effective in the third quarter, pointing to challenging market conditions and an uncertain timeline for a recovery in oil prices.
Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, was down 1.2%. Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY), the nation’s largest lender declined 1.5% to C$70.89.
Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD), the second-largest bank by market value, edged down 1.3% to C$51.13.
Air Canada (TSE:AC) rose 1.6% after the nation’s largest air carrier reported August traffic figures, posting a 10.1% increase in system-wide traffic and a 10.4% increase in capacity.
Blackberry (TSE:BB) advanced 2% to C$10.06 after the Canadian smartphone maker agreed to buy its rival mobile security software maker Good Technology for $425mln in cash.
In economic news, Finance Minister Joe Oliver shrugged off the debate on whether the economy fell into a recession in the first half of the year, citing job gains and output growth outside of producers of crude oil and other commodities.