Canadian Shares Retreat After Strong Labor Data

The S&P/TSX Composite index was over 0.5% lower to hover below the 20,400 level on Friday, tracking the slide for equities in North American equities as stronger-than-expected labor data increased bets that central banks could move more aggressively to tighten policy.

The Canadian unemployment rate unexpectedly fell by 0.1 percentage point to 5.1% in November, as unemployment fell by over 20 thousand people and over 10 thousand jobs were added, In the meantime, US payroll data showed that 263 thousand jobs were added to the US economy, well above expectations of 200 thousand.

The materials sectors led the losses as a stronger US dollar pressured the Canadian gold mining industry, while policy-sensitive tech shares tracked their North American counterparts and dropped over 1%.

On the other hand, energy producers were sharply in the green ahead of the OPEC meeting over the weekend.

On the week, Toronto’s benchmark index is set to close flat.