Markets in North America warmed to hopeful news on the U.S. labour front Friday.
The S&P/TSX composite index rocketed 97.24 points to open Friday at 14,857.88.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.04 cents at 89.62 cents U.S.
Iamgold said it would sell its Niobec rare earths mine in Quebec to a group of companies led by investment company Magris Resources Inc for $500 million in cash, to focus on its core gold mining business. Iamgold shares lost a dime to $2.94.
Sears Holdings Corp is turning to its chief executive for cash for the second time in three weeks in a sign that its efforts to sell off assets are coming up short. Sears Canada shares gave back a nickel to $10.95.
Canaccord Genuity raised the rating on Capstone Mining to buy from hold. Capstone shares inched up a penny to $2.22.
In the economic docket, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday that Canada's budget deficit for the 2013/14 fiscal year is likely to be $5.2 billion, rather than the $16.6 billion forecast in February.
Moreover, Canada's merchandise imports rose 3.9% in August, while exports shrank 2.5%. Statistics Canada also said that, as a result, Canada's trade balance with the world went from a surplus of $2.2 billion in July to a deficit of $610 million in August.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 2.29 points to 879.84, after taking a pounding over the last several days.
All but four of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher in the first hour of trading, industrials gained 2.4%, health-care was up 1.7%, and consumer discretionaries were up 1.4%
The four laggards were weighed by gold, down 3.5%, materials, off 1.9%, and metals and mining, down 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock prices drew positive momentum from a strong jobs report that suggests that the U.S. economy is stronger than expectations.
The Dow Jones Industrials sprang to life 134.02 points to 16,935.07.
The S&P 500 gained 16.56 points to 1,962.73. The NASDAQ index shot up 43.85 points to 4,474.05.
Mylan Inc. shares rose 3.72% after the pharmaceutical company raised its third-quarter and full-year earnings guidance.
Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp. shares rose 6.7%, as the widening breadth of Ebola cases in the U.S. gave brighten the company’s business outlook. Tekmira is one of a handful of biotech companies working on treatments for the Ebola virus.
In commodities-related shares, plunging gold prices put pressure on miners, while energy groups suffered from falling oil prices. Oil and mining stocks were among the worst performers on the S&P 500. Diamond Offshore Drilling fell 3.7%. Newmont Mining Corporation was down 2.3%.
Shares of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. could be on the move after the bank late Thursday that 76 million households were affected by a previously disclosed cybersecurity breach.
The U.S. economy added 248,000 jobs in September and hiring in August turned out to be a lot stronger than forecasts, showing the U.S. economy entered the fall with rising momentum. The unemployment rate fell to 5.9%, falling below 6% mark for the first time since 2008.
Separately, the U.S. trade deficit fell 0.5% to $40.1 billion U.S. in August, marking the lowest level since January as the nation exported a record amount of petroleum and imported less. An update on the September ISM non-manufacturing reading was due this morning.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries slid, raising yields to 2.47% from Thursday’s 2.44%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped 50 cents to $90.51 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices hesitated $20.50 to $1,194.60 U.S. an ounce.
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