U.S. Rate Hike Fears May Hit Canadian Stocks -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Early signs are mixed for Canadian stocks Friday morning after a strong US jobs report cemented expectations the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in the near term.

The U.S. economy created 271,000 new jobs in October, pushing unemployment rate down to 5%. Moreover, workers saw the biggest gain in hourly wages since 2009.

Meanwhile, Statistics Canada reported that the Canadian economy created 44,000 jobs in October, and that the unemployment rate declined by 0.1 percentage points to 7%.

The S&P/TSX composite index lost 103.04 points to close Thursday at 13,558.78.

Mining stocks may struggle yet again, as a stronger U.S. dollar is pushing down metal prices.

U.S. Gold for December dropped $10 to $1094 an ounce, the lowest since August.

In corporate news, First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) has hired Jefferies to explore a sale of its two nickel mines.

TransCanada Corp. (TRP.TO, TRP) will sell a 49.9% interest in Portland Natural Gas Limited Partnership to its master limited partnership, TC PipeLines, LP (TCP), for a purchase price of $223 million.

Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (BAM) reported earnings for third quarter that dropped from last year. The company will also launch a formal $9 billion takeover bid directly to Asciano port.

CCL Industries Inc.(CCL_A.TO) has bought privately-owned Worldmark in Scotland.