The Canadian market is down in negative territory a little past noon on Friday, having retreated after edging up a bit early on in the session. Though positive Canadian GDP data and U.S. inflation report aid sentiment, the mood remains a bit cautious with investors looking ahead to U.S. Personal income & spending data due on Friday.
The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index was down 39.83 or 0.17% at 23,187.66 nearly half an hour past noon.
K-Bro Linen Inc (KBL.TO), Quebecor Inc (QBR.A.TO), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO), Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate (CAR.UN.TO), Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust (BEI.UN.TO) and Ag Growth International (AFN.TO) are gaining 1.3 to 2.4%.
Laurentian Bank (LB.TO) is down 4.3%. The bank reported net income of $34.1 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.67 for the third quarter of 2024, compared with net income of $49.3 million and diluted earnings per share of $1.03 for the third quarter of 2023.
Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO), Dayforce (DAY.TO), Cogeco Inc (CGO.TO), Open Text Corporation (OTEX.TO), Bombardier Inc (BBD.B.TO), Imperial Oil (IMO.TO), Tourmaline Oil Corp (TOU.TO), Precision Drilling Corporation (PD.TO), Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) and TFI International (TFII.TO) are down 1 to 2.5%.
Canadian Western Bank (CWB.TO) is down 0.7%. CWB reported a net income of $41 million for the third-quarter of its current financial year, down 46% from the preceding quarter.
Data from Statistics Canada showed the Canadian economy advanced by 0.5% in the second quarter of 2024, following a 0.4% rise in the previous period marking its second consecutive quarter of expansion.
On an annualized basis, Canadian GDP grew by 2.1% in Q2, the highest since Q1 2023, accelerating from an upwardly revised 1.8% increase in the previous quarter and exceeding forecasts of 1.6%
According to a report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, the business barometer in Canada, a long-term index reflecting 12-month forward expectatins for business performance in the country, rose to a 2-year high of 56.8 in August from the upwardly revised 55.5 in the previous month.
In U.S. economic news, Commerce Department released readings on U.S. consumer price inflation that are said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve.
The report showed consumer prices increased in line with economist estimates in the month of July, while the annual rate of price growth was unexpectedly flat.
The Commerce Department said its personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose by 0.2% in July after inching up by 0.1% in June. The modest increase matched expectations.
Meanwhile, the report said the annual rates of growth by the PCE price index and the core PCE price index were both unchanged at 2.5% and 2.6%, respectively.