Employment numbers worked their way into the picture, and Toronto’s main stock index was set to benefit from stronger jobs numbers stateside, even though comparable numbers here sputtered.
The S&P TSX Composite began the last session of a wild week up 83.20 points to 12,196.49
The Canadian dollar settled back 0.17 cents to 98.46 U.S. cents
Stocks to watch in these first few hours of trading include Research in Motion, which said it would record a pre-tax charge in its fiscal third-quarter to write down the value of its poorly received PlayBook tablet devices.
Royal Bank of Canada enjoyed a fourth-quarter profit from continuing operations that rose 19% due to strong growth in mortgages and business loans.
Bank of Nova Scotia’s fourth-quarter profit rose 10.7% as stronger wealth management and international banking income overshadowed weaker capital markets.
Yukon-Nevada Gold Corp. received a letter from the U.S. Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration saying its Jerritt Canyon mill is being put on safety-watch list.
Thomson Reuters Corp. CEO Tom Glocer is stepping down at the end of the year following a slump in the share price in recent months and will be replaced by COO James Smith.
Oncolytics Biotech Inc. said a mid-stage trial of its genetically engineered virus that aims to treat pancreatic cancer met its main study goal.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada came out with figures this morning saying the country lost 18,600 jobs last month, with the unemployment rate hiking one-10th of a point to 7.4%.
The loss of 53,300 part-time jobs was partially offset by a gain of 34,600 in full-time employment. Despite recent declines, employment in Canada rose 1.2% compared to November 2010.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange grew 10.29 points to 1,558.43, while the Nasdaq Canada index subsided 9.92 points to 400.09
All but four of the 14 Toronto subgroups were positive to begin the day. Global base metals shared the top spot with industrials, each advancing 1.5%, while energy gained 1.2%.
The four laggards were weighed by information technology, dumping 1.6%, while gold tailed off 0.6% and utilities shed 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks enjoyed big gains soon after Friday’s opening bell, after the government's closely-watched jobs report showed a bigger-than-expected boost in payrolls last month.
The Dow Jones Industrials plowed ahead 120.56 points, or 1%, to 12,140.60
The S&P 500 restored 15.25 points, to 1,259.83, while the Nasdaq Composite grew 32.65 points to 2,658.85
Economically speaking, U.S. government said employers boosted payrolls by 120,000 jobs in November, from an upwardly revised 100,000 jobs in October. The unemployment rate eased to 8.6%, the lowest level since March 2009.
A survey of 21 economists had predicted that 110,000 jobs were added in November, while the unemployment rate was expected to stay unchanged at 9%.
The government jobs report will be followed by a Treasury Department briefing about the numbers at 11 a.m. ET.
Meanwhile, in a speech to the German parliament Friday, Merkel reaffirmed her support for the euro and called for changes to the European Union treaty. She stated that legally-binding rules need to be put in place to help the region resolve its massive debt crisis.
One expert said that the sharp move lower in 10-year sovereign bond yields on Friday could also indicate that the risk of contagion is diminishing, thanks to the plan among a group of central banks -- including the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank -- to inject liquidity into global markets to make it cheaper for banks to borrow U.S. dollars.
Among companies, Shares of Research in Motion also slid nearly 5% in premarket trading in New York Friday, after the Waterloo, Ontario-based company said it no longer expects to meet its full-year earnings target.
Shares of Big Lots slid nearly 6% in premarket trading, after the retailer posted a sharp decline in third-quarter profit.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury remained static, keeping yields for the time being at Thursday’s 2.12%.
Oil for January delivery regained 40 cents to $100.40 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for December delivery gained $15.20 to $1,750.50 U.S. an ounce.
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