Bay Street Likely To See Some Volatility At The Start; Jobs Data In Focus

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market is likely to see some volatility in early trades on Friday with investors reacting to jobs data from Canada and the U.S.

Concerns about the potential fallout from the implosions of Silicon Valley Bank and Silvergate Capital are likely to weigh as well.

Canadian jobs data for the month of February is due at 8:30 AM ET.

The Canadian economy added 150,000 jobs in January of 2023, the most since February 2022. The unemployment rate in Canada came in at 5% in January 2023, below market forecasts of 5.1%.

Average weekly earnings in Canada increased by 4.5% from a year earlier in January, after the downwardly revised 4.7% rise in the previous month.

BMO Financial (BMO.TO) and LoyaltyOne, Co., a subsidiary of Loyalty Ventures Inc. (LYLT) announced Friday the signing of a purchase agreement for BMO to acquire LoyaltyOne's AIR MILES Reward Program (AIR MILES) business.

The Canadian market ended sharply lower on Thursday on widespread selling amid rising concerns about U.S. interest rates.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a loss of 259.81 points or 1.28% at 20,086.72, slightly above the day's low of 20,063.92.

Asian stocks tumbled on Friday amid concerns about the health of the U.S. banking sector and anxiety ahead of the all-important U.S. jobs data due later in the day that could set the tone for the U.S. interest rate outlook.

European stocks are down sharply as investors assess the potential fallout from the implosions of Silicon Valley Bank and Silvergate Capital.

In commodities trading, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are down $0.55 or 0.73% at $75.17 a barrel.

Gold futures are gaining $6.00 or 0.32% at $1,840.60 an ounce, while Silver futures are up $0.030 or 0.15% at $20.195 an ounce.