Bay Street Likely To Open On Mixed Note

(RTTNews) - Canadian shares are likely to open on a mixed note Friday morning with investors reacting to jobs data from either side of the border, and the trend in commodities markets. Uncertainty surrounding Trump Administration's trade policy is likely to deter investors from making significant moves.

Data from Statistics Canada showed the Canadian economy added 1,100 jobs In February. The unemployment rate came in unchanged at 6.6% for the month of February.

The Labor Department's data said employment in the U.S. increased by slightly less than expected in the month of February. The report said non-farm payroll employment climbed by 151,000 jobs in February after rising by a downwardly revised 125,000 jobs in January.

Economists had expected employment to grow by 160,000 jobs compared to the addition of 143,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The Labor Department also said the unemployment crept up to 4.1% in February from 4.1% in January, while economists had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged.

AltaGas Ltd. (ALA.TO) announced the fourth-quarter net income of C$203 million or C$0.68 a share versus C$113 million or C$0.40 a share in last year.

The Canadian market closed notably lower on Thursday amid uncertainty about the Trump administration's moves with regard to tariffs and economic policies.

The 25% tariffs by U.S. on Canadian goods and 10% on Canadian energy products came into force earlier this week. The Trump administration decided to delay the levy on auto companies for a month.

The Canadian government, for its part, announced reciprocal tariffs on over $150 billion of US imports.

Technology, healthcare, utilities, financials, real estate and materials shares were among the major losers in the session.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended down 286.78 points or 1.15% at 24,584.04, more than 100 points off the day's low of 24,476.47.

Asian stocks retreated on Friday as investors grappled with geopolitical uncertainty and conflicting signals from the U.S. about Trump's tariffs.

Gold ticked higher as the U.S. dollar continued to retreat ahead of key U.S. employment data due later in the day. Oil headed for its biggest weekly drop since October on demand concerns and fears of oversupply in the market.

Chinese shares ended lower after a choppy session as official data showed Chinese export growth eased more than expected at the start of the year and imports logged an unexpected sharp decline amid mounting trade tensions.

European stocks are down firmly in negative territory amid uncertainty surrounding Trump Administration's economic and international trade policy.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are up $0.86 or 1.3% at $67.22 a barrel.

Gold futures are down $1.40 or 0.05% at $2,925.20 an ounce, while Silver futures are lower by $0.398 or 1.19% at $32.940 an ounce.