By Adriano Marchese
Stocks in Toronto were nearly flat in midday trading Thursday, the last trading day of the shortened week before the Easter holiday long weekend. The Toronto Stock Exchange will be closed on Friday and reopen on Monday, April 10. On the macro front, employment in Canada rose by 35,000 in March, ahead of consensus expectations for the economy to add 10,000 jobs. The unemployment rate was unchanged 5%. In the session, the manufacturing sector was the main laggard, followed by process industries, offsetting gains primarily in consumer durables and retail.
At midday, Canada's S&P/TSX Composite Index was flat at 20159.97 and the blue-chip S&P/TSX 60 edged 0.01% lower at 1213.89.
Shares of Charlotte's Web Holdings Inc. were up 8.8% at 44 Canadian cents (33 U.S. cents) after the company said it formed a joint venture with AJNA BioSciences PBC, a botanical drug development subsidiary of tobacco and nicotine products giant British American Tobacco PLC. Earlier in the morning, the stock rose as high as C$0.48 a share.
Other market movers:
ATAC Resources Ltd. shares were over 15% higher at C$0.15 after it announced that it signed a definitive agreement with U.S.-based Hecla Mining Co. to be acquired in a deal worth 31 million Canadian dollars ($23 million).
Aimia Inc. shares ticked up 1.1% to C$3.71 after it said that its largest shareholder, Saudi Arabia-based Mithaq Capital SPC, would vote against the re-election of its board of directors at its annual general meeting on April 18.
Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-06-23 1219ET
