TSX inches up, but still set for worst week in nearly 18 months

Canada’s main stock index recouped early losses to rise on Friday, as investors parsed domestic and U.S. employment data, but remained on track for its biggest weekly fall since September 2023.

At 10:45 a.m. ET, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index rose 0.2% to 24,635.20.

For the week, the index was still set to fall 3%. The benchmark lost 1.2% on Thursday.

Throughout the week, investors faced a tumultuous ride with trade uncertainties. On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico took effect. But on Thursday, Trump announced a temporary exemption for goods from both countries under a North American trade pact, lasting a month.

On the economic front, Canada’s unemployment rate remained steady at 6.6% in February, with only slight increase in new job additions.

“There are early signs that the intensification of uncertainty from U.S. tariff threats, and pull back in measures of business confidence, had an impact on hiring on the more trade-sensitive goods producing side of the economy,” said Nathan Janzen, assistant chief economist at Royal Bank of Canada.

TSX drops as trade tensions hurt sentiment

In the U.S., job growth improved in February, though the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1%. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 151,000 jobs, slightly below the 160,000 forecast by economists polled by Reuters.

Among TSX sectors, energy and materials led the gains with 2.6% and 1.5%, respectively.

Oil prices rose 1.34% on Friday, but were still on course for a nearly 4% weekly decline.

Copper prices surged to their highest level in nearly five months, buoyed by optimism over potential stimulus from China, the world’s leading consumer.

Among individual stocks, MDA Space jumped 12.8% after the space technology company forecast first-quarter revenue above estimates.

Conversely, Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp lost 6.6% after the utility firm’s fourth-quarter profit missed estimates.