By Robb M. Stewart
Shares on Canada's main exchange notched modest gains toward the end of a turbulent week buoyed by finance stocks after jobs data pointed to a soft economy, which may help keep the door open for further rate relief.
In midday trading, the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX Composite Index was 0.2% higher at 22274.9. The index is up 0.2% in the last week, but has declined 3.6% month-to-date.
Fairfax Financial was among the biggest drivers of the benchmark index, rising 2% to C$1,492 and offsetting a 0.8% fall to C$4,030.94 by Constellation Software, which will release second-quarter results after the market closes.
The blue-chip S&P/TSX 60 was ahead 0.2% at 1336.89.
Canada's major banks were higher, led by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce with a gain of 0.6% and a 1% advance by Canadian Western Bank.
Hiring in Canada unexpectedly stalled for a second straight month in July and the jobless rate held steady at 6.4%, which is up almost a percentage point from a year earlier. The labor force participation rate declined even as the country's population continued to grow, and economists said the labor market survey overall supported expectations the Bank of Canada will continue to lower interest rates.
Other market movers:
Algonquin Power & Utilities' shares fell 9.9% to C$7.65 after the company moved to cut its dividend by 40% to bolster its balance sheet, overshadowing news of a $2.5 billion deal to sell its renewable energy business.
Canopy Growth dropped 9.4% to C$8.60 after the company reported lower fiscal first-quarter revenue that showed a drop in cannabis sales in Canada.
Saputo declined 2.2% to C$30.88 after the dairy company's first-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization fell short of analysts' expectations.
Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
08-09-24 1240ET
