Stocks in Toronto rose on Friday, tracking upbeat global markets as sentiment warmed following a surprise win by the business-friendly Conservatives in the U.K. election and data that showed a rebound in the U.S. labour market in April.
The S&P/TSX composite index moved higher 96.24 points to greet noon at 15,185.06
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.27 cents to 82.73 cents U.S.
The biggest heavyweight movers on the index included Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, which rose 1% to $268.02, and Royal Bank of Canada, up 0.5% at $79.19.
Energy stocks, hit hard this week by an historic election in oil-rich Alberta in which the left-leaning New Democratic Party toppled the Progressive Conservatives after 44 years in power, climbed. By Thursday's close, the sector had lost about 5.5% this week. In the group, Suncor Energy rose 1.3% to $36.87 on Friday.
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 4.60 points to 690.11
All but one of the 14 Toronto subgroups were positive, with energy ahead 1.8%, health-care better by 1.1%, and industrials up 0.9%.
The lone holdout remained in telecoms, down 1.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks surged more than 1% on Friday as investors cheered a jobs report that showed economic growth but not enough to warrant central bank tightening immediately.
The Dow Jones Industrials leaped 272.12 points, or 1.5%, to pause for lunch at 18,196.18, with Boeing leading all blue chips higher.
The S&P 500 index moved upward 28.40 points to 2,116.40, with financials leading all 10 sectors higher.
The NASDAQ grew 66.03 points to 5,011.57.
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 priced its initial public offering at $19 U.S. per share, above the expected range, giving the company a $680-million U.S. value. The restaurant chain will begin trading today on NASDAQ.
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 2.11% from Thursday’s 2.18%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained 56 cents to $59.50 U.S.
Gold prices gained $3.20 to $1,185.40 U.S.
