Canada's main stock index rose on Friday, boosted by energy companies, which were supported by higher oil prices.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index jumped 100.65 points to greet noon at 15,722.12
The Canadian dollar eased 0.01 cents to 77.81 cents U.S.
Shares of Manulife Financial Corp and Bank of Nova Scotia, both of which were up about 0.7%, helped the financial group gain
Also helping the energy sector was Pembina Pipeline, up 3%, after the company on Thursday reported higher quarterly revenue, expansion of its Peace Pipeline system and an increase to its monthly dividend.
Enbridge Inc on Thursday agreed to pay $1.86 million in penalties for an alleged failure in inspecting certain lines within its Lakehead pipeline system. Shares of the pipeline operator gained 1.6%.
TransCanada Corp's shares gained 0.3% after pressure restrictions on the pipeline operator's Keystone oil pipeline were lifted on Tuesday in a letter issued by U.S. pipeline safety regulators.
The largest percentage gainer on the TSX was Martinrea International, which rose 10.7% after the company posted first-quarter results that were above analysts' expectations.
Enerflex Ltd was the largest decliner on the main index after the company reported quarterly revenue that missed estimates, sending its shares down 7.7%.
Among the most active Canadian stocks by volume was Baytex Energy Co, which fell 4.7% to $5.47 after the company reported its first-quarter results on Thursday.
Bombardier and Aurora Cannabis were also among the most heavily traded stocks.
On the economic front, Western University’s IVEY School’s Purchasing Manager's Index (seasonally adjusted) for April stands at 71.5, indicating that purchases were greater than the previous month. That compares with 59.8 in March, and with 62.4 in April
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange moved positive 0.27 points to 771.52
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive, as energy gained 1.1%, industrials hiked 1%, and materials popped 0.6%
The two laggards were gold and health-care, each down 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks rose sharply Friday as Wall Street shrugged off lackluster numbers in the government's monthly jobs report while shares of Apple hit an all-time high to lead the technology sector higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 227.84 points, or 1.2%, to 24,207.99, thanks to a 3.7% rally in Apple shares, which jumped after famed investor Warren Buffett revealed that he purchased 75 million shares during the first quarter. The Dow dropped more than 100 points shortly after the opening bell.
The S&P 500 added 28.23 points, or 1.1%, to 2,658.06, buoyed by a 1.6% gain in technology stocks.
The NASDAQ jumped 103.84 points, or 1.5%, to 7,191.99, thanks to the aforementioned rally in Apple, a 1% gain in Facebook and a 1.4% boost in Google-parent Alphabet.
Despite anemic numbers early Friday, Apple jumped sharply after the Buffett buy, which added to the conglomerate's already massive stake in the tech giant, "brought down our cash position moderately."
The technology company has been trying to cope with softer iPhone sales, a key product for the Cupertino, California firm. In its earnings report this week, iPhone sales were still up from a year ago, and Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement that customers "chose iPhone X more than any other iPhone each week in the March quarter."
Also carrying tech higher was a 3.6% bump in Activision Blizzard, which reported adjusted earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street expectations Thursday. The company reported its official numbers after Dow Jones reported a few incorrect headlines about its financial report earlier on Thursday.
Economically speaking, the U.S. Labor Department reported that the economy added 164,000 jobs in the month of April, lower than the 195,000 expected by economists. Average hourly earnings growth also missed, rising only 0.15% against expectations of a 0.2% gain.
Despite the miss in the number of jobs added, the government said the unemployment rate fell to 3.9%, an 18-year low.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note gained ground lowering yields to 2.94% from Thursday’s 2.95%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices picked up 28 cents a barrel to $68.71 U.S.
Gold prices deducted $1.80 to $1,310.90 U.S. an ounce.
