Canada's main stock index rose on Friday as higher gold prices boosted materials stocks and after tepid jobs data raised the odds that Bank of Canada will hold interest rates steady.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 62.48 points to greet noon at 16,021.98
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.13 cents to 78.2 cents U.S.
Pushing the financial group higher were shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank, up 0.5%, and Sun Life Financial, which gained 1.5%
The largest percentage gainer on the TSX was SSR Mining Inc, which rose 7.3%, after the company on Thursday reported quarterly results.
CES Energy Solutions Corp's 6.5% made it the biggest decliner, after the company reported first-quarter results on Thursday.
Shares of Thomson Reuters, down 4.6% to $47.67, was among the most heavily traded. The news and information company reported first-quarter sales and earnings that were slightly higher than expected.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported employment was essentially unchanged in April and the unemployment rate held steady at 5.8%
On the North American Free Trade Agreement front, U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan has set a May 17 deadline to be notified of a new trade deal to give the current Congress a chance of passing it.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 4.84 points to 779.53
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive, led by health-care, up 1%, real-estate, ahead 0.7%, and telecoms, progressing 0.6%
The two laggards were industrials, down 0.1%, and consumer staples, off 0.03%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities rose slightly on Friday, as Wall Street looked to book a week of solid gains led by energy stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrials came off its highs of the morning, but was still positive 33.03 points to 24,772.56, with Verizon as the best-performing stock in the index.
The S&P 500 gained 0.14 points to 2,723.21, with telecommunications outperforming.
The NASDAQ faded 13.62 points to 7,391.36
For the week, however, the major indexes are all up at least 2%.
Energy stocks were up 3.8% for the week entering Friday's session, the most of all 11 S&P 500 sectors. The sector received a boost from surging oil prices, which jumped after President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the Iran nuclear deal.
Technology shares also contributed to the index's weekly gains, rising 3.7%. Leading the S&P 500's biggest sector by market cap were Facebook and Google-parent Alphabet, which climbed more than 5%.
In corporate news, chip maker Nvidia reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue, while giving upbeat guidance. The stock fell 1%. however.
Verizon shares jumped more than 3% after analysts at J.P. Morgan upgraded the telecom giant, noting that its heft dividend and 5G network plans will be a boost.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury dipped slightly, raising yields to 2.97% from Thursday’s 2.96%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices shed 35 cents a barrel to $71.01 U.S.
Gold prices gained 20 cents to $1,322.50 U.S. an ounce.
