(RTTNews) – Canadian stocks inched higher on Friday, extending the gains from yesterday’s session, as regional mediators are frantically working to bring the U.S. and Iran back for re-negotiations following their recent standoff while June month jobs data showed an unexpected increase.
After opening a little higher than yesterday’s close, today the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index remained volatile initially but later traded firmly positive throughout the rest of the session before settling at 35,305.31, up by 104.86 points (or 0.30%).
Five of the 11 sectors posted gains today, with the consumer discretionary sector leading the pack.
Today in Canada, data from Statistics Canada revealed that the unemployment rate eased to 6.50% in June from 6.60% in the previous month, below market expectations that it would remain unchanged and tying for the lowest since July 2024.
Net employment rose by 18,000 positions in June to 21,139,700, supported by part-time positions. Unemployment fell by 13,200 to 1,469,200.
In contrast, manufacturing employment fell by 17,000, reversing much of May’s 15,000 increase.
The Bank of Canada is set to announce its next interest rate decision on July 15. Economists are of the view that the central bank will likely hold its overnight rate at 2.25% as inflation rose to 3.20% in the month of May.
On July 1, the U.S. administration refused to extend the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement for free trade in its current form until 20236. Instead, the U.S. opted for a 10-year extension with mandatory annual reviews.
The U.S. decision has put Canadian businesses in trouble as they cannot make any long-term plans. Further, an annual review could entitle the U.S. to tweak the agreement in its favor.
Canadian exporters utilized the CUSMA deal to send their goods to the U.S. circumventing the high tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump last year.
Though product-specific aggressive U.S. tariffs hurt the economy, nearly 90% of U.S. imports from Canada remained duty-free with CUSMA serving as a backstop. As losing this protection could rattle the economy, investors are awaiting how the government handles the situation.
In the recent months, Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney set out for various countries in Asia, the Middle East and Europe to explore marketplaces outside the U.S.
Yesterday, Carney signed multiple memoranda of understanding with Saudi Arabia, covering several industries including mining, energy, artificial intelligence, etc.
The U.S. and Iran signed a Memorandum of Understanding on June 17. However, both nations engaged in exchange of fire on July 7 and 8.
Today, via Truth Social, Trump stated that Iran asked the U.S. to continue with the negotiations and added that the U.S. has agreed to it.
Axios reported that officials from Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia conducted multiple phone calls on Wednesday and Thursday with the U.S. as well as Iranian officials, and cited a diplomat as stating that both sides want to come back to the MoU.
Reuters reported that a Qatari team is in Iran to facilitate the next round of negotiations between the U.S.
The Joint Maritime Information Center issued an advisory to mariners indicating the threat level across the Strait of Hormuz as “severe” and urged sailors to remain vigilant.
Major sectors that gained in today’s trading were Consumer Discretionary (1.50%), Consumer Staples (1.23%), Financials 0.94(%), IT (0.59%), and Energy (0.10%).
Among the individual stocks, Aritzia Inc (7.43%), Trekor Metals Limited (4.04%), Gildan Activewear Inc (2.95%), Metro Inc (2.27%), Empire Company Limited (1.91%), and Igm Financial Inc (3.41%) were the prominent gainers.
Major sectors that lost in today’s trading were Utilities (0.04%), Industrials (0.12%), Healthcare (0.17%), Real Estate (0.36%), Materials (0.56%), and Communication Services (0.65%).
Among the individual stocks, Quebecor Inc (3.12%), Lithium Americas Corp (7.11%), Americas Gold and Silver Corporation (3.81%), Colliers International Group Inc (1.49%), Bausch Health Companies Inc (1.60%), and Mda Space Ltd (4.06%) were the notable losers.
