TORONTO — Canada's main stock index edged higher in trading on Wednesday, helped by strength in the technology sector, while U.S. stock markets also rose.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 5.45 points at 25,641.18.
The index took a “breather” Wednesday ahead of key labour market indicators set to be released both in Canada and the U.S. this week, said Angelo Kourkafas, senior investment strategist at Edward Jones.
Statistics Canada will report the latest data from the national labour force survey on Friday, the same day the November jobs report is due in the U.S.
“That's the last important data point for the Bank of Canada before they meet next week,” said Kourkafas.
November was a strong month for equities, he said, so it isn't surprising that investors are digesting the gains while they await new data.
He said it’s expected that Statistics Canada will report an acceleration of job gains after last month brought a “relatively weak reading,” with job gains at about half of what analysts were expecting.
While Canada’s central bank is expected to cut its key interest rate a fifth straight time on Dec. 11, the size of the cut could depend on that jobs data, he said.
“We're now looking at a rebound, but as the Bank of Canada deliberates between a quarter point cut versus half a percentage point cut, I think what we are going to see in terms of unemployment rate and the base of job gains is going to have a say into that,” said Kourkafas, adding that wage growth is another important metric to watch.
“If we see steady job growth and slowing wages, that can potentially tilt the Bank of Canada towards a larger cut.”
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 308.51 points at 45,014.04. The S&P 500 index was up 36.61 points at 6,086.49, while the Nasdaq composite was up 254.21 points at 19,735.12.
U.S. markets were propelled by strength in the technology sector, said Kourkafas, highlighting strong results in quarterly earnings released this week by Salesforce Inc. and Marvell Technology Inc.
“I think today's results highlight that there is still a long runway and still enthusiasm, excitement about artificial intelligence and kind of that multi-year adoption cycle,” he said.
The Canadian dollar traded for 71.09 cents US compared with 71.14 cents US on Tuesday.
The January crude oil contract was down US$1.40 at US$68.54 per barrel and the January natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$3.04 per mmBTU.
The February gold contract was up US$8.30 at US$2,676.20 an ounce and the March copper contract was down less than a penny at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 4, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press