TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index moved lower Thursday, weighed down by losses in energy, telecom and technology stocks, while U.S. markets were mixed.
Ongoing volatility amid uncertainty over potential tariffs continued to pressure the market, said Mike Archibald, vice-president and portfolio manager with AGF Investments Inc.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 35.35 points at 25,534.49.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 125.65 points at 44,747.63. The S&P 500 index was up 22.09 points at 6,083.57, while the Nasdaq composite was up 99.66 points at 19,791.99.
A handful of earnings disappointments this week have added to the mix, Archibald said, though earnings overall have been pretty good so far.
“Ford wasn’t particularly good,” he said.
“In Canada, you’ve got Colliers and El Dorado, Bombardier, Lightspeed, all those stocks are down significantly today. That’s probably weighing a little bit on sentiment.”
Ford’s stock price was down 7.5 per cent after investors reacted to its financial forecasts.
Lightspeed shares fell 12.9 per cent after reporting a strategic review concluded without a take-private deal, while Bombardier was down 5.7 per cent after withholding its forecast due to tariff uncertainty.
Investors were also cautious ahead of Amazon earnings set to be released after the bell, added Archibald.
Friday will bring the latest data on the U.S. jobs market, a key indicator in the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision-making around interest rate policy.
“If you get a very hot number, that’s probably going to take some of the air out of the rate cuts the market still has priced, which is around two cuts this year,” said Archibald.
Archibald doesn’t see cuts in the near term from the Fed as the U.S. economy remains strong.
“The Canadian economy is in a much different position,” he said.
Statistics Canada will release its latest jobs report Friday as well. December’s report showed unemployment at 6.7 per cent, a slight improvement from November but trending upward more broadly.
While another couple of rate cuts are already expected this year from the Bank of Canada, Archibald said if tariffs come into play, more cuts could be on the table.
“It does matter a lot for the Canadian economy,” he said.
“Interest rates have been falling for a while in Canada, and yet the unemployment rate continues to grind a little bit higher.”
The Canadian dollar traded for 69.82 cents US compared with 69.95 cents US on Wednesday.
The March crude oil contract was down 42 cents at US$70.61 per barrel and the March natural gas contract was up five cents at US$3.41 per mmBTU.
The April gold contract was down US$16.30 at US$2,876.70 an ounce and the March copper contract was up two cents at US$4.46 a pound.
— With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2025.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
