TSX posts biggest decline since April as US jobs data spooks investors
The S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE), opens new tab ended down 239.35 points, or 0.9%, at 27,020.43, extending its pullback from a record closing high on Tuesday.
It was the index's sharpest decline since April 10. For the week, the TSX was down 1.7%.
"August tends to be one of the worst months for the year and it's setting off to do that once again, as we're seeing some volatility and a quick drop-off with weaker payroll numbers in the U.S. and just some concerns around earnings so far," said Greg Taylor, chief investment officer at PenderFund Capital Management.
"A lot of the better companies usually report first in the cycle, and we got that, now we're starting to see some weakness."
Wall Street posted steep declines as Amazon.com (AMZN.O), opens new tab failed to meet lofty expectations for its Amazon Web Services cloud computing unit and after U.S. jobs data disappointed.
U.S. employment growth was weaker than expected in July while the nonfarm payrolls count for the prior two months was revised down by a massive 258,000 jobs, suggesting a sharp deterioration in labor market conditions.
Domestic data was also downbeat. Canada's manufacturing sector contracted for a sixth straight month in July as tariffs undercut trade with the United States and spurred firms to reduce inventory as well as staffing levels.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order increasing tariffs on Canadian goods to 35% from 25% on all products not covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.
All ten major sectors on the TSX ended lower, led by a 2.4% decline for technology (.SPTTTK), opens new tab.
Energy (.SPTTEN), opens new tab lost 1.9% as worries about a possible increase in OPEC oil production weighed on the price of oil. U.S. crude futures settled 2.8% lower at $67.33 a barrel.
Heavily weighted financials (.SPTTFS), opens new tab lost 0.9%.
MDA Space Ltd (MDA.TO), opens new tab was a bright spot. Its shares jumped 18.4% after the aerospace company was selected as the prime contractor on a project for Echostar.
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