Xinhua, Toronto :
Canada’s main stock market in Toronto ended Friday lower despite better than expected December employment data, as sharp declines in mining stocks weighed in.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s benchmark Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite lost 90.53 points, or 0.58 percent, to close the week at 15,496.05 points. Eight of the ten sub-sectors lost ground on the day.
Prior to markets opening on Friday, Statistics Canada reported that the economy added 53,700 jobs in December, compared to the market expectation of a 2,500 decline. This marked the fifth consecutive month of increases, with the latest figure representing a 0.3 percent gain compared to November.
Unemployment rate ticked up 0.1 percent to 6.9 percent, as the labour force rose 0.1 percent to 29.72 million. By category, 81,300 full-time jobs were added, while 27,600 part-time jobs were lost. The spike in full-time jobs is the highest single-month increase since March 2012.
Dawn Desjardins, Deputy Chief Economist at Royal Bank of Canada believes the latest figures are encouraging ones to end a year.
“The labour market ended 2016 on a high note in terms of job creation pushing the annual increase up to the highest level since 2012,” Desjardins said in a report. “December’s report provides a solid handoff to 2017 and paves the way for household spending to continue.”
Canada’s main stock market in Toronto ended Friday lower despite better than expected December employment data, as sharp declines in mining stocks weighed in.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s benchmark Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite lost 90.53 points, or 0.58 percent, to close the week at 15,496.05 points. Eight of the ten sub-sectors lost ground on the day.
Prior to markets opening on Friday, Statistics Canada reported that the economy added 53,700 jobs in December, compared to the market expectation of a 2,500 decline. This marked the fifth consecutive month of increases, with the latest figure representing a 0.3 percent gain compared to November.
Unemployment rate ticked up 0.1 percent to 6.9 percent, as the labour force rose 0.1 percent to 29.72 million. By category, 81,300 full-time jobs were added, while 27,600 part-time jobs were lost. The spike in full-time jobs is the highest single-month increase since March 2012.
Dawn Desjardins, Deputy Chief Economist at Royal Bank of Canada believes the latest figures are encouraging ones to end a year.
“The labour market ended 2016 on a high note in terms of job creation pushing the annual increase up to the highest level since 2012,” Desjardins said in a report. “December’s report provides a solid handoff to 2017 and paves the way for household spending to continue.”
