12:24 PM EDT, 03/13/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The Toronto Stock Exchange is down 188 points at midday, with most sectors lower.

The worst performers are miners (-3.3%) and info tech (-1.6%).

Financials and utilities are the biggest gainers, up 0.6% and 0.7%, respectively.

On the domestic economics front, focus was on the release of Canadian employment data for February. TD Bank noted Canada's economy lost 84,000 jobs in February (-0.4% month/month), far below consensus expectations for a 10,000 increase.

Total employment is now essentially unchanged from September (+0.1%) having reversed most of last fall's gains. The details painted a similarly downbeat picture with the number of full-time workers down 108,000, and the number of private sector workers down 73,000 for the month, it added. The unemployment rate also rose to 6.7% from 6.5% in January. The rise in the unemployment rate came despite another 27,000 people leaving the labour force.

StatCan noted that the unemployment rate for both youth (+1.3 p.p.) and core working aged men (+0.3 p.p) rose in the month. Wage growth was up in February, with average hourly wages up 3.9% versus a year ago (3.3% in January).

Looking forward, TD is expecting the labour market to "tread water" in 2026, as a rapid slowdown in population growth drags on labour supply, and soft economic momentum limits hiring. It said the wildcard to all of this is how big the inflation shock from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East will be. The duration of the supply disruption remains highly uncertain, but its length will impact inflation and, thereafter, consumer spending and the economy at large, it added.

Desjardins' Royce Mendes said "it's been a brutal start" to the year for Canada's labor market.

Mendes is dismissing the spike in average hourly wages. The increase looks completely due to compositional effects, with job losses heavily tilted towards lower-than-average paid work, which mechanically pushes up the average wage reading, he added.

The recent spike in oil prices still has the market pricing more than one full rate hike for the Bank of Canada this year. However, he said, given the deterioration in labour market conditions and the "severe woes" in regional housing markets, Desjardins believes central bankers will largely look through the impacts of higher energy prices in the near-term. After rising again yesterday, yields across the Government of Canada curve are falling, particularly at the short end, and the Canadian dollar was trading weaker, Mendes added.