CANADA STOCKS-Toronto stock market edges higher as mining shares climb
Updates at market close
By Fergal Smith
Jan 9 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index ended higher on Thursday, led by gains for metal mining shares, but the move was limited as investors awaited employment data both sides of the border and braced for a potentially more volatile year for financial markets.
The S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE ended up 21.68 points, or 0.1%, at 25,073.36, adding to the prior day's gains.
Trading volumes were lighter than usual, with the U.S. stock market closed for a national day of mourning to mark the death of former President Jimmy Carter.
"It's difficult to get any direction on a day when the U.S. markets are closed," said Elvis Picardo, portfolio manager at Luft Financial, iA Private Wealth.
"It feels like the calm before the storm ... I think investors pretty much worldwide are probably bracing themselves for a more volatile 2025."
The TSX notched a gain of nearly 18% in 2024 but has pulled back from a December peak as a hawkish shift by the Federal Reserve and the threat of U.S. trade tariffs weighed on sentiment in recent weeks.
U.S. and Canadian employment data, due on Friday, could offer clues on prospects of additional interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Canada.
Economists forecast that Canada's economy added 25,000 jobs in December and the unemployment rate edged up to 6.9% from 6.8% in November.
The materials group, which includes fertilizer companies and metal mining shares, rose 1.5%, reaching its highest closing level since Dec. 12, as gold and copper prices climbed.
Industrials were a drag, falling 0.6%, as railroad stocks lost ground, and utilities ended 0.5% lower.
Canadian Natural Resources CNQ.TO said it expects production to increase 12% and capital spending to rise 13.5% in 2025, as it bets on higher demand amid tight oil supplies.
The company's shares were down 0.2%.
(Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto and Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; editing by Barbara Lewis and Alistair Bell)
((fergal.smith@thomsonreuters.com; +1 647 480 7446))
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