Stock markets on both sides of the border registered solid gains Friday amid stronger than expected employment reports in Canada and the United States.
The S&P/TSX composite index climbed 96.42 points to greet noon at 13,296.82
The Canadian dollar docked 0.05 cents at 93.83 cents U.S.
The financial sector advanced as traders also took in the final earnings report from the big banks. Scotiabank posted quarterly net income of $1.7 billion, up 12% from a year ago.
Scotiabank also says it earned $1.30 per share of net income in the fourth quarter, up from $1.18 a year earlier. Core earnings per share came in at $1.31 a share, a penny short of expectations. The shares erased early gains to rise 47 cents to $63.79.
Other bank stocks turned higher after registering losses during the week as traders absorbed a mixed bag of earnings from a sector that had soared as high as 22% year-to-date. Bank of Montreal rose 82 cents to $70.07 and Royal Bank was up $1.12 to $69.29.
The industrials sector climbed and Canadian Pacific Railway improved by $2.67 to $164.01 and Canadian National Railways gained 72 cents to $60.15.
The gold sector was up while Goldcorp climbed 41 cents to $22.55.
March copper gained one cent to $3.24 U.S. and the base metals sector was ahead. First Quantum Minerals climbed 33 cents to $17.35.
Consumer staples stumbled with grocer Loblaw Cos. Ltd. off 56 cents to $43.33.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported this morning that the Canadian economy created 21,600 new jobs in November – the third consecutive monthly increase - while the unemployment rate held steady at 6.9%, also for the third straight month.
However, the agency says, so far this year, employment growth has averaged only 13,400 per month, compared with an average of 25,400 over the same period in 2012
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange restored 3.11 points to 917.89
All but three of the 14 TSX subgroups were higher by noon ET, led by gold’s 1.3% improvement, while global base metals and the industrial sector each gained 1.2%.
The three laggards were consumer staples, down 0.4%, while utilities sank 0.2% and information technology lost 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
All three major U.S. stock indexes surged as investors cheered a better-than expected November jobs report.
The Dow Jones Industrials zoomed 158.17 points, or 1%, to pause midday at 15,979.70
The S&P 500 index hiked 16.69 points to 1,801.72. The NASDAQ surged 31.86 points to 4,065.03. All three indices were coming off four-session losing streaks.
Struggling retail giant J.C. Penney was down almost 5% after it disclosed Thursday that the Securities and Exchange Commission has an inquiry about its finances.
Shares tumbled 8% Thursday after hedge fund manager Kyle Bass told the media that his firm no longer owns the stock. J.C. Penney's stock had been rallying lately due to purchases from Bass and other hedge funds.
Shares of Ulta Salon, the cosmetics superstore, plunged 18% after the company posted weaker than expected results and lowered its fourth-quarter outlook.
Big Lots was down almost 12% after its earnings came in below analyst expectations.
Sears Holdings bounced 2% on reports that the retailer is looking to spin off its Land End's clothing brand.
Shares of Intel and career networking site Linkedin were both higher after receiving upgrades from analysts.
The U.S. Labor Department said the economy added 203,000 jobs in November, higher than the 183,000 estimated by economists. The unemployment rate dropped to 7.0% from 7.3%. It was expected to fall to 7.2%.
For months, investors have been sweating the Federal Reserve, trying to calculate when it will scale back, or taper, its massive $85-billion-U.S.-per-month stimulus program. The Fed has said that improvement in the job market was one of the main things it was looking for before it would start trimming its bond purchases.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries were unchanged, keeping yields at Thursday’s 2.86%.
Oil prices moved ahead 24 cents to $97.62 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices inched forward 40 cents to $1,232.30 U.S. an ounce.
Related Stories
