Canadian Market Moderately Lower At Noon; Energy, Materials Stocks Decline

(RTTNews) - After opening on a weak note, the Canadian market is languishing in negative territory a little past noon on Friday, with energy and materials stocks reeling under selling pressure due to falling commodity prices.

Investors are also digesting the nation's employment data, and reacting to a slew of corporate earnings updates.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is down 154.56 points or 0.62% at 24,691.37 a few minutes past noon.

Data from Statistics Canada showed employment in Canada rose by 14,500 in October, following a 46,700 increase in the previous month. The unemployment rate in Canada was at 6.5% in October, remaining unchanged from the previous month.

Average hourly earnings in Canada increased to C$36.73 in October, from C$36.54 a month earlier.

The Materials Capped Index is down 2.4%. Ivanhoe Mines (IVN.TO) and First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) are down 9% and 8.6%, respectively. Hudbay Minerals (HBM.TO) is down 7.1%, while Sandstorm Gold (SSL.TO), Ero Copper (ERO.TO), Wesdome Gold Mines (WDO.TO), Capstone Mining (CS.TO), Teck Resources (TECK.B.TO) and Lundin Mining (LUN.TO) are down 4 to 6%.

Iamgold Corp (IMG.TO) is rising nearly 8% and Ssr Mining (SSRM.TO) is gaining about 5.5%. Lundin Gold (LUN.TO), Interfor Corp (IFP.TO) and Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM.TO) are also notably higher.

The Energy Capped Index is down 1.65%. Baytex Energy (BTE.TO), MEG Energy (MEG.TO), Kelt Exploration (KEL.TO), Birchcliff Energy (BIR.TO), Headwater Exploration (HWX.TO), Veren (VRN.TO), Vermilion Energy (VET.TO), Ces Energy Solutions (CEU.TO), Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO), Arc Resources (ARX.TO) and International Petroleum Corporation (IPCO.TO) are down 2 to 4%.

Mattr Corp (MATR.TO) is soaring nearly 14%. Pason Systems (PSI.TO) is gaining 2.5%, and Nuvista Energy (NVA.TO) is climbing more than 4%.

Telus Corporation (T.TO) is up 3.7% after reporting a net income of $257 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, up 87.6% compared to net income of $137 million in the corresponding quarter last year.

Onex Corporation (ONEX.TO) reported third-quarter net earnings of $127 million, compared to $256 million a year ago. The stock is gaining nearly 3%.

Docebo Inc (DCBO.TO) is up 2% after reporting net income of $5.0 million, or $0.16 per share, for the third quarter of this financial year, compared to net income of $4.0 million, or $0.12 per share for the comparative period in the prior year.

Brookfield Business Partners (BBU.UN.TO) is up nearly 4%. The company reported net income of $301 million for the three months ended September 30, 2024, compared to net loss of $44 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.