Canada's main stock index opened higher on Friday, after oil prices surged 4%, while a robust domestic November jobs report eased concerns over a recent economic slowdown.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index recovered from a 245-point loss Thursday, to acquire 94.47 points, and open Friday at 15,031.47.
The Canadian dollar surged 0.75 cents to 75.41 U.S.
RBC raised the price target on Capital Power to $29.00 from $28.00. Capital Power shares gained 77 cents, or 2.8%, to $28.38.
CIBC cut the target price on Dollarama to $37.00 from $40.00. Dollarama shares gave back eight cents to $33.25.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reported this country produced 94,000 jobs in November, driven by gains in full-time work. The unemployment rate decreased 0.2 percentage points to 5.6%, the lowest since comparable data became available in 1976.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 5.28 points to 571.36.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups started out positive Friday, as energy gushed 3.5%, health-care climbed 2.5%, and materials were 0.7% stronger.
The four laggards were information technology, sliding 0.3%, while consumer discretionary and utility stocks each shed 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks traded lower on Friday as shares of major technology companies rolled over while Wall Street parsed through a U.S. jobs report that handily missed expectations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 123.31 points to open Friday at 24,824.36
The S&P 500 faded 14.3 points to 2,681.66
The NASDAQ dropped 61.15 points to 7,127.11
Friday concludes what has been a volatile week for Wall Street. Both the Dow and S&P 500 were down 2.3% for the week through Thursday's close, while the NASDAQ had fallen 1.9%.
Shares of Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google-parent Alphabet all traded lower. Apple's stock also fell 1.5% after Morgan Stanley cut its price target on the tech giant's shares, citing weakening iPhone sales.
The U.S. economy added 155,000 jobs last month. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a gain of 198,000 jobs. Wage growth also missed estimates.
The Wall Street Journal reported the Federal Reserve is considering whether to signal a wait-and-see approach to rate hikes at its upcoming meeting this month. The report said Fed officials do not know what their next move on rates will be after December.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury were unchanged, keeping yields at Thursday’s 2.89%.
Oil prices gained $2.21 to $53.70 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices added $7.20 to $1,250.80 U.S. an ounce.
