Canada's main stock index surged Friday morning, after stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data raised hopes about the outlook for the North American economy
The S&P/TSX index surged 106.17 points to start the week’s final session at 12,485.81
The Canadian dollar regained 0.10 cents to 99.04 cents U.S.
Eldorado Gold Corp posted a first-quarter loss on Thursday, hit by a $125.2-million charge related to a change in the Greek tax rate. Eldorado shares added five cents to $7.71
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd said on Thursday its first-quarter profit fell by half as lower prices and one-time charges offset record oil production. Shares hiked 61 cents to $30.08
Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. unexpectedly rebounded to a profit in the first quarter, helped by strong underwriting results and investment gains. Fairfax shares leaped $4.26 to $412.75
BlackBerry said the U.S. Department of Defense has approved its new line of devices powered by the revamped BlackBerry 10 operating system to be used on DoD networks. Shares gained 35 cents to $16.18.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 4.43 points Friday to 967.24
All 14 Toronto subgroups were higher, led by metals and mining, spiking 3.8%, global base metals, prospering 3.4%, and materials, growing 1.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Investors welcomed the latest report on the U.S. jobs market Friday, pushing the benchmark S&P 500 above the 1,600 level for the first time. The Dow Jones industrial average also inched closer to 15,000.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 154.08 points, or just more than 1%, to 14,985.70
The S&P 500 index surged 16.88 to 1,614.47. The NASDAQ Composite gained 41.20 points to 3,381.82
Warren Buffett's investment firm Berkshire Hathaway is scheduled to release quarterly earnings after the market close.
LinkedIn shares plunged after the professional-networking site offered weak second-quarter guidance.
AIG shares rose after the insurer reported earnings that beat expectations Thursday.
Economically speaking, the U.S. economy added 165,000 jobs in April, according to the government's latest monthly jobs report. The unemployment dipped to 7.5% from the prior month's rate of 7.6%.
Both numbers were better than expected, easing concerns about a summer slowdown in the economy. But the unemployment rate remains well above the level at which the Federal Reserve has said it will take the market's punch bowl away.
While jobs will likely dominate trading Friday, it's not the only economic report on tap. The Census Bureau will release data on factory orders and the Institute for Supply Management will release its monthly services-sector index later in the morning.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury slumbered, hiking yields to 1.71% from Thursday’s 1.63%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices gained $1.06 to $95.05 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slid $1.50 at $1,466.10 U.S. an ounce
