Canadian stocks were set to open sharply higher on Friday after a report showed the U.S. economy created jobs at the fastest pace in nine months in January and the unemployment rate dropped to a near three-year low.
The news offset Canada's sluggish employment data, which showed the job market unexpectedly stalled.
The Canadian dollar suffered a corresponding slide of 0.17 cents, to below parity with the U.S. dollar at 99.91 cents.
Pulp and paper whiz Domtar Corp. said its quarterly profit fell 80%, hurt by weak pulp prices and lower paper shipments, and said pulp prices were expected to remain under pressure in certain geographies.
CE Franklin Ltd., the distributor of oilfield production equipment posted a nearly three times jump in fourth quarter profit, but forecast only a modest revenue growth for 2012 as it expects industry activity to remain flat.
Canada’s economy, though, created a negligible 2,300 net new jobs in the month as layoffs in construction and professional services offset modest hiring in manufacturing, that word from Statistics Canada.
The jobless rate ticked higher to 7.6% from 7.5%, the highest since April 2011, as more people were looking for work.
Analysts had predicted 23,100 new positions and a jobless rate holding steady from December at 7.5%
Stateside, investors are gearing up for a rally following a much stronger than expected report on January job growth.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials soared 109 points, or 0.9%, to 12,725, while S&P futures spiked 11.20 points, or 0.9%, to 1,333.90, and Nasdaq futures ballooned 25 points, or 1% to 2,516.50, signaling a mighty start to the markets soon after the opening bell, later this hour.
The U.S. Labor Department reported that the economy added 243,000 jobs in January, far exceeding expectations. The unemployment rate dropped to 8.3%.
Economists had expected the department to report an increase of 130,000 jobs in January. The unemployment rate was expected to rise to 8.6%.
Economists had expected a slowdown in post-holiday hiring, considering that about 40,000 temporary couriers were hired for the holidays alone.
Investors will also remain on the lookout for an official agreement on a debt-reduction plan, and second bailout for Greece. The deal is expected to come by the end of the week, though deadlines have been missed in the past.
Reports are also due Friday on factory orders and the service sector. Also, a slew of corporate results came out on Thursday morning.
European stocks were higher in midday trading, but lost some of their morning momentum.
Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.4% while the DAX in Germany and France's CAC 40 were nearly flat%.
Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.8%, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong was flat and Japan's Nikkei slipped 0.5%.
Oil for March delivery rose 59 cents to $96.94 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery fell $8.40 to $1,750.90 U.S. an ounce.
Related Stories
