Canadian equities inched higher Friday, finding support from strength in commodities and a global stock market rally, as traders cheered U.S. jobs data and news that Greece completed a deal with its private creditors to reduce its debt.
But weaker-than-expected data on employment from the Canadian government limited gains among stocks traded in Toronto.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 41.69 points to end the day and week at 12,503.62
The Canadian dollar shed 0.04 cents to 100.93 cents U.S.
Metals and Mining issues rose as metals futures climbed.
Shares of Teck Resources Ltd. added 21 cents to $36.41, while Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. also climbed 21 cents, or 1.7%, to $18.12.
Energy stocks gained strength on higher crude-oil futures.
Shares of Suncor Energy, Canada’s biggest energy company by market value, ducked 13 cents to $34.14, however, while Nexen Inc. tacked on 34 cents, or 1.7%, to $19.88. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. shares edged up seven cents to $35.42.
Neo Material Technologies Inc. shares were among the standouts in Toronto trading, rallying $2.91, or 36.5%, to $10.88, after U.S. rare-earth miner Molycorp Inc. agreed to buy the company for about $1.3 billion.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada said employment was unchanged in February. A decline in the number of people searching for work pushed the unemployment rate down 0.2 percentage points to 7.4%.
Compared with 12 months earlier, employment was up by 121,000, or 0.7%, with the bulk of the increase occurring in the first half of the period.
Elsewhere, the agency also said January exports declined 2.3% and imports edged down 0.6%. As a result, Canada's trade surplus narrowed from $2.9 billion in December 2011 to $2.1 billion in January 2012, for the third consecutive monthly trade surplus.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 15.47 points to 1,649.81, while the Nasdaq Canada index moved ahead 4.06 points to 415.94
In all, 10 of the 14 Toronto subgroups were in the green to end the day. Consumer staples sprinted ahead 2.5%, metals and mining issues were 1.1% stronger, and information technology prospered 0.5%.
The four laggards were weighed mostly by health-care stocks, down 0.6%, gold, sliding 0.4%, and energy, down 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, slightly better-than-expected jobs report and positive news out of Greece lifted stocks for a third straight day on Friday.
The gains were broad, with all 10 S&P 500 sectors gaining ground, led by financial and material stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrials settled for a gain of 14.08 points by the closing bell, to 12,922, with JPMorgan Chase, DuPont and Alcoa) leading the rise.
The S&P 500 gained 4.33 points to 1,370.24, while the Nasdaq strengthened 17.92 points to 2,988.34
Friday also marks the third anniversary of a bull market. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have more than doubled in value from the bear market lows on March 9, 2009. The Dow is up more than 97%.
Stocks started out the week in the red -- posting the worst losses of the year Tuesday -- as investors remained nervous about Greece and the U.S. job market. Despite three up days, the Dow hasn't fully recovered and is headed for a second consecutive week of declines.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have recouped their losses from earlier in the week, but the gains for the week are slim at just 0.5%.
While gains for the week are muted, stocks have had an impressive run so far in 2012. The Dow is up almost 6% the S&P 500 has climbed 9% and the Nasdaq has rallied nearly 15%.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters shares dropped after Starbucks announced that it will begin selling a single-service coffee machine of its own.
Green Mountain currently dominates the single-serve market with its popular Keurig, or K-Cup, machines.
Texas Instrument shares also fell after the chipmaker lowered its earnings and revenue forecast for the first quarter on weak demand.
Carnival shares slipped also cut its outlook, sending shares lower.
In Greece, creditors agreed to a plan to restructure Greek bonds, government officials said Friday. More than 85% of private bondholders agreed to the deal, Deputy Prime Minister Evangelos Venizelos said in a statement.
The agreement on private-sector involvement, as it is known, was the final hurdle Greece must clear to meet all the conditions of its second €130-billion bailout program from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.
European finance officials could approve the final portion of Greece's bailout as early as Friday -- staving off, for now, the prospect of a disorderly default.
Economically speaking, the jobs report showed that the U.S. economy added 227,000 jobs in February, and the unemployment rate remain unchanged at 8.3%. That's down from January, when employers added 243,000 jobs.
A survey of 19 economists had predicted that the economy added 210,000 jobs in February, with an 8.3% unemployment rate.
The U.S. trade deficit for January totaled $52.6 billion U.S., up from $50.4 billion U.S. in December.
Wholesale inventories for January increased by 0.4%, after increasing 1.1% the month prior. Economists were expecting a 0.6% rise.
Treasury prices for the 10-year note dropped, raising yields to 2.04% from Thursday’s 2.01%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for February delivery gained 87 cents to $107.45 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery added $10.50 to $1,709.20 U.S. an ounce.
Related Stories
