Canada Stocks: Toronto stocks fall as mining, energy weigh; index set for weekly gain

Mattr

08/11/2024 15:58

(Updated at 10:02 a.m. ET/ 1502 GMT)
    By Nikhil Sharma
       Nov 8 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index slipped on
Friday, hurt by mining and energy shares, while domestic jobs
data slightly trimmed bets for a hefty 50-basis-point interest
rate cut by the Bank of Canada next month.
    The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index
 .GSPTSE  was down 118.73 points, or 0.48%, at 24,727.2, but was
set to log weekly gains, broadly benefiting from Donald Trump's
reelection and his proposals for tax cuts and looser regulations
on corporations.
    However, his planned 10% tariff on all imports could have
serious implications for Canada, the world's No. 4 crude oil
producer. 
    Canada's materials sector  .GSPTTMT  fell 1.8% as gold
prices dropped and heading for their worst week in over five
months, strained by the strong dollar amid market uncertainty
about Trump's victory's impact on the U.S. rate cut trajectory.
 GOL/  
    Lower copper prices also weighed on the sector as China's
latest fiscal stimulus disappointed investors.  MET/L 
    The energy sector  .SPTTEN  fell 1.3%, tracking oil prices
as concerns eased over Hurricane Rafael's impact on the U.S.
Gulf's oil and gas infrastructure.  O/R 
    "The Canadian markets and the US markets are at all-time
highs. So I don't think a small pullback today is of any
concern," said Michael Constantino, chief executive officer at
Webull Canada.
    Canada added lower-than-expected 14,500 jobs in October,
while wages of permanent employees rose. The unemployment rate
stayed unchanged from September but hovered around a 34-month
high of 6.5%.
    Traders see a 58.7% chance of a 50-bps cut at the Bank of
Canada's December policy meeting, slightly below the 64%
likelihood seen before the data.  0#BOCWATCH 
    The bank slashed rates by half a percentage point last month
in a bid to boost economic growth.
    BoC's peer, the U.S. Federal Reserve, cut rates by 25 basis
points on Thursday.
    The biggest gainer on the index, Mattr  MATR.TO , jumped
15.8% after the material technology company agreed to buy power
cable producer AmerCable from France-based Nexans  NEXS.PA  for
$280 million.

 (Reporting by Nikhil Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay
Kishore)
 ((Nikhil.Sharma@thomsonreuters.com;))