Equities in Toronto reached their highest in almost a month on Friday as shares of natural resource producers strengthened with commodity prices and positive Canadian jobs data boosted overall sentiment.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 127.45 points to close the day and the week at 14,690.83
The Canadian dollar took on 0.71 cents to 88.25 cents U.S.
Shares of energy producers jumped, as Canadian Natural Resources gained 2.8% to $40.87, and Suncor Energy Inc was up 1.8% at $39.19.
The gold-mining sector advanced, reflecting stronger bullion prices. Barrick Gold added 6.3% to $13.79, and Goldcorp rose 6.9% to $22.68.
Shares of Cameco Corp surged 11% to $21.24, rising with other uranium producers such as Paladin Energy, UR-Energy and Uranerz Energy, after Japan moved closer to restarting two nuclear reactors.
Japan's nuclear industry has been stalled for more than three years after the Fukushima disaster led to the shutdown of its fleet of reactors.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported this morning that jobs in Canada increased 43,000 in October, weighing the unemployment rate down 0.3 percentage points to 6.5%, the lowest rate since November 2008.
The agency was expected to report that the economy lost 5,000 jobs in October, pulling back from the surge in hiring seen in September, while the unemployment rate was forecast to hold steady at 6.8%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange hiked 18.72 points to 770.26.
Seven of the 14 Toronto subgroups gained ground, with gold flying 6.4%, metals and mining stronger by 6.2%, and materials up 4.3%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by health-care stocks, off 6.9%, consumer staples, shrinking 1.4%, and consumer discretionaries down 1%.
Financials were flat by the close.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks were little changed on Friday as gains in energy shares were offset by falling healthcare stocks, in the wake of October payrolls data that indicated economic resilience in the face of slowing global demand.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 19.46 points to 17,573.93
The S&P 500 eked up 0.71 points to 2,031.92. The NASDAQ index dropped 5.94 points to 4,632.53. The Dow and S&P were on track to post a third straight positive week.
Walt Disney Co fell 2.6% to $89.63 U.S. a day after earnings met expectations, though its cable networks were weaker. The stock had closed Thursday at $92 U.S., a record high.
Health insurers fell after the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a legal challenge to a key part of the Obamacare health law that, if successful, would limit the availability of federal health insurance subsidies for millions of Americans.
Shares of hospital operator Tenet Healthcare fell 4.4% to $48.91 U.S. while Community Health Systems was down 6.8% to $47.16 U.S. Managed care facilities operator Humana Inc was down 5.9% to $131.60 U.S. and HCA Holdings fell 3.7% to $66.40 U.S.
Healthcare stocks had been pressured from the opening bell after Salix Pharmaceuticals plummeted 32.5% to $93.48 U.S. in its biggest-ever daily drop. The company on Thursday slashed its full-year forecast amid swollen drug inventories, an issue that dissuaded Allergan from acquiring the drugmaker, people familiar with the matter said.
First Solar sank 11% to $50.19 as the biggest decliner on the S&P 500 the day after the company said it wouldn't spin off its solar power plants into a separate, publicly traded entity as some of its competitors have done.
Economically speaking, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics declared that the economy created 214,000 jobs last month, dropping the unemployment rate one-10th of a percentage point to 5.8%. Economists had projected that 233,000 jobs were created in October, and the jobless level would remain at 5.9%.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained sharply, lowering yields to 2.31% from Thursday’s 2.38%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 71 cents to $78.62 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices moved higher $28.20 to $1,170.80 U.S. an ounce.
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