Canadian stocks rallied Friday after the U.S. jobs data beat expectations
The S&P/TSX Composite index hiked 156.11 points, or 1.4%, to approach noon at 11,662.61
The Canadian dollar jumped 0.88 cents to 100.16 cents U.S., past parity with its American neighbour for the first time in weeks.
Markets in Toronto will be closed Monday for a provincial holiday.
Commodity companies making the greatest headway included Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. tacking on 4.6%, Inmet Mining Corp. adding 4.3%, and Imperial Oil up 3.4%.
Buoying the technology sector, shares of Open Text Corp. rose 3.8%, while class B shares of CGI Group Inc. added 2.3%.
North America's biggest farm retail supplier, Agrium Inc., reported a 20% increase in quarterly profit late on Thursday as demand for crop inputs remained strong. Agrium shares retreated 1% to $93.68.
Other stocks to watch this morning include Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. which reported higher earnings excluding a tax credit, and also said it is looking into how to take advantage of new ownership rules that allow greater foreign participation in smaller telecoms like itself. Manitoba Tel shares faded 2.2% to $33.14.
Sierra Wireless Inc. posted a second-quarter profit, aided by strong sales at its mobile computing division and a recent acquisition. Sierra shares dipped 8.6% to $8.66.
A U.S. hedge fund stepped up its battle with Telus Corp on Thursday, calling for a meeting of holders of the company's voting shares to prevent it from revisiting a failed plan to consolidate its two classes of stock on a one-for-one basis. Telus shares gained 1.6% to $63.36.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 10.51 points to 1,184.11. The Nasdaq Canada index grew 9.16 points to 341.69.
All 14 Toronto subgroups were still ahead by lunch hour, led by metals and mining, higher by 2.7%, global base metals, up 2.6%, and energy issues, ahead 2.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rallied nearly 2% Friday as investors welcomed a stronger-than-expected July jobs report.
The Dow Jones industrial average remained higher at noon ET by 247.18 points, or 1.9%, to 13,126.06
The S&P 500 increased 28.07 points to 1,393.07. The Nasdaq galloped 62.01 points to 2,971.78
The indexes were all on track to end higher for the week as Friday's gains offset losses on Thursday. Stocks are trading at the highest levels since early May.
In the corporate world, shares of Knight Capital Group rebounded 20%, after plummeting to near $2 U.S. a day earlier.
After a costly high-frequency trading mishap Wednesday, Knight is now the subject of takeover talks. The Wall Street Journal reported that Knight told its clients it had secured a line of credit to keep operating through Friday.
LinkedIn shares jumped after the business networking site reported sales that nearly doubled from a year ago, led by a huge increase in revenue for its job posting services.
Facebook jumped on the tech bandwagon. Shares gained in early trading, following six straight days of losses.
Shares of Procter & Gamble rose in early trading after the consumer products company topped earnings expectations. Revenues were in line with expectations.
Kraft said late Thursday that profits rose in the second quarter, adding that it expects continued growth in the remainder of the year.
NYSE Euronext's quarterly results beat Wall Street's earnings and revenue forecasts.
On the economic slate, the U.S. economy added 163,000 jobs in July, an improvement from an increase of just 64,000 in June, according to a government report. Economists were predicting 95,000 jobs were added last month.
The jobs report surprise is a sign that hiring hasn't completely stalled -- a positive step for the struggling U.S. economy.
The unemployment rate, however, rose for the first time in over a year. The jobless rate ticked up to 8.3%, compared to forecasts for the rate to hold steady at 8.2%.
Elsewhere, the Institute for Supply Management said its index of activity in the services sector increased to 52.6 in July from 52.1in June.
The index was expected to come in at 52.3, according to a survey of analysts by Briefing.com.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, pushing the yields sharply upwards to 1.58% from 1.48% late Thursday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for September delivery spiked $4.47 to $91.60 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for August delivery rose $10 to $1,600.80 U.S. an ounce.
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