04:18 PM EDT, 06/07/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Fears of a snarled border, a rising unemployment rate and rail infrastructure pulled the market lower on Friday, with the S&P/TSX Composite Index closing down 222.10 points at week close at 22,007.0.

Battery Metals, up 1.9% and Information Technology, up 0.18%, were the sole sectors gaining on the day.

Base Metals, down 2.69% and Utilities, down 1.01%, were the largest decliners.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil closed with a small loss on Friday as hopes for interest-rate cuts declined after the United States added more jobs than expected in May. WTI crude oil for July delivery closed down US$0.02 to settle at US$75.53 per barrel, while August Brent crude, the global benchmark, closed down US$0.25 to US$79.62.

Gold prices slumped he most in two years to their lowest in a month mid-afternoon on Friday on fading hopes for a near-term cut to interest rates from the Federal Reserve after the United States added significantly more jobs than expected last month, sending the dollar and treasury yields higher. Gold for August delivery was last seen down US$66.40 to US$2,324.50 per ounce, the lowest since April 30..

The markets downward trend reflected an anticipated strike by Canadian border guards, as mediation continued between the more than 9,000 Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) members, who were poised to strike at 4 p.m.

According to Ottawa, 90 per cent of front-line border officers are designated as essential - which would prevent them from any work stoppages. However, union members could use work-to-rule, performing their daily routine as exactly laid out in their contracts, which would snarl and delay border crossings. There is an estimated $2.5 billion in trade that crosses between the U.S. and Canada every day.

Also, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) said Friday Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City ( CP ) dismissed a proposal to stagger talks with the companies by two weeks - a move that would have helped avoid simultaneous work stoppages at the railways, according to a statement from the TCRC.

Staggering the negotiations is "a sensible solution that would minimize disruptions," said Paul Boucher, President of the TCRC, adding that "CN and CPKC's rejection of this proposal "is a clear indication of how little they care about the economy and the supply chain."

A weak jobs report also failed to offer support to stocks, with Canada adding 27,000 jobs last month, in line with expectations, while the unemployment rate ticked up to 6.2% as the labor force rose by 90,000 in May.

"While much of the report fits the slowdown narrative, the one troubling aspect for further Bank of Canada (BoC) rate cuts was a rebound in wages-average hourly wages popped back up to a 5.1% y/y pace from 4.7% in April, and right back in line with the average reading over the past year. Still, the BoC will note the rising slack in the job market -- the steady climb in the jobless rate, and the rise in the involuntary part-time rate to 18.2% -- and conclude that it's a matter of time before wage growth relents", BMO Economics noted.