Equities in Toronto pared their midday gains late Friday after telecom stocks widened their losses and the buying momentum in energy shares slowed down.
The S&P/TSX composite index remained higher 81.2 points to end the day and the week at 15,170.02
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.24 cents to 82.70 cents U.S.
On the sector front, energy still emerged as the best performing group, as Imperial Oil tacked on 11 cents to $50.11.
Among health-care issues, Valeant Pharmaceuticals added $2.41, or 0.9%, to $267.86.
Miners were ahead as Goldcorp gained 65 cents, or 3%, to $22.66, while Sherritt International added five cents, or 1.6%, to $3.10.
Moneta Porcupine Mines was the most actively traded stock, gaining 1.5 cents, or 27.3% to seven cents on 6.1 million shares.
The telecom group eased, erasing sharp gains from the Thursday session that was fueled by the rally in Telus. The stock slid 83 cents, or 1.9%, to $41.97
On the economic slate, Friday was jobs day on both sides of the border, and in Canada, employment edged down in April by 20,000, as gains in full-time work were more than offset by losses in part time. Statistics Canada added the unemployment rate held steady at 6.8% for the third consecutive month.
The Canadian economy was expected to have shed 5,000 jobs in April, with the unemployment rate forecast to have risen to 6.9%.
Moreover, Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp reported the seasonally adjusted annualized rate of housing starts fell to 181,814 in April from a downwardly revised 189,546 units in March. Forecasters had expected 182,000 starts.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange picked up 5.51 points to 691.02
All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups were positive, with energy ahead 1.4%, health-care better by 1.2%, and consumer discretionaries up 1%.
The three laggards included telecoms, down 1.6%, metals and mining, sliding 0.3%, and consumer staples, letting go of 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed sharply higher on Friday as investors cheered a jobs report that showed economic growth but not enough, in the eyes of most, to warrant central bank tightening immediately.
The Dow Jones Industrials leaped 267.05 points, or 1.5%, to conclude the session at 18,191.11, with Visa and Boeing leading all blue chips higher.
The S&P 500 index moved upward 28.10 points to 2,116.10, with health care leading all 10 sectors higher.
The NASDAQ grew 58.01 points to 5,003.55.
AOL reported adjusted quarterly profit of 34 cents U.S. per share, two cents above estimates, while revenue was well above forecasts. AOL's results were driven by strength in video, mobile, and programmatic advertising.
Bojangles surged 40% in its trading debut. The restaurant chain priced its initial public offering at $19 U.S. per share, above the expected range, giving the company a $680-million U.S. value.
Salesforce stock is on watch again today, with Reuters reporting that Microsoft is not considering a bid for the business software maker. Reports earlier this week said Microsoft was considering an offer for Salesforce.
RBC initiated coverage Whirlpool with an "outperform" rating, calling the appliance maker an exceptionally well-managed company that will benefit from a favorable competitive environment in North America.
April's jobs report showed a creation of 223,000 jobs and an unemployment rate of 5.4%. Average hourly earnings increased 0.1%, a touch below expectations of 0.2%.
Analysts polled by Reuters expect the non-farm payrolls report to show the creation of 224,000 jobs in April, with unemployment lower at 5.4%.
Analysts called the April employment figures a "Goldilocks" report because it was just right for gains in stocks.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained ground, dropping yields to 2.14% from Thursday’s 2.18%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 54 cents to $59.48 U.S.
Gold prices hiked five dollars to $1,187.20 U.S.
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