TSX Ends Moderately Lower

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market ended on a weak note on Friday, weighed down by losses in technology, consumer and energy sectors.

Despite upbeat jobs data, the mood in the Canadian market remained quite cautious. All the sectoral indices ended in the red.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended down by 119.87 points or 0.56% at 21,461.83, slightly off the day's low of 21,454.99. The Index gained about 0.3% in the week.

Tecsys Inc (TCS.TO) ended 7.25% down. Docebo Inc (DCBO.TO) ended lower by 6.3%, while Lithium Americas Corp (LAC.TO), Maxar Technologies (MAXR.TO) and Premium Brands Holdings Corporation (PBH.TO) lost 5 to 6.3%.

Descartes Systems Group (DSG.TO), Nuvei Corporation (NVEI.TO), Constellation Software (CSU.TO), TFI International (TFII.TO), Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) and Franco-Nevada Corporation (FNV.TO) lost 1.7 to 4%.

Data released by Statistics Canada showed the Canadian economy added 336,600 jobs in February of 2022, more than offsetting losses that coincided with stricter public health measures in January. It was the biggest addition in employment since September 2020. Economists had forecast an addition of 160,000 jobs in the month.

Full Time Employment in Canada increased by 121,500 thousand in February of 2022, while part-time employment increased by 215,100.

The unemployment rate in Canada fell to 5.5% in February of 2022 from 6.5% in January, much lower than market expectations of 6.2%, and the lowest jobless rate since July 2020.