Canada's main stock index stayed in the green on Thursday as the financial and industrial groups climbed, while shares of energy and marijuana producers pared some recent gains.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 41.39 points to end Thursday at 16,412.94
The Canadian dollar climbed 0.33 cents to 80.02 cents U.S.
The heavyweight financials group rose as bond yields climbed after data showing a stronger-than-expected gain in U.S. private employment. Manulife Financial Corp advanced 62 cents, or 2.4%, to $26.79
Higher yields reduce the value of insurance companies' liabilities and increase net interest margins of banks.
Elsewhere in financials, Royal Bank of Canada hiked $1.11, or 1.1%, to $105.00.
Industrials firmed, with Waste Connections up 88 cents, or 1%, at $87.74 after two analysts raised their price target on the stock.
Bombardier was unchanged at $2.91
Among materials, First Quantum Minerals climbed 34 cents, or 1.8%, to $18.83.
The energy group, which had rallied as much as 11.9%, since mid-December, fell Thursday as Encana was down 45 cents, or 2.6%, at $16.86.
The largest decliner on the TSX was Aphria Inc, down $2.98, or 13.9%, at $18.48. Another marijuana producer, Canopy Growth, fell $3.71, or 10.3%, to $32.19.
Even so, the biggest gainer on the index was Prometic Life Sciences, which rose 18 cents, or 12.8%, to $1.59, also among health-care issues.
In the utilities field, Hydro One lost three cents to $22.19.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported that its industrial product price index increased 1.4% in November, mainly attributable to higher prices for energy and petroleum products, while its raw materials price index rose 5.5%, primarily due to higher prices for crude energy products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gave back much of what it had gained this short week, dumping 9.56 points, or 1.1%, to 880.38
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly divided, with financials up 0.7%, industrials advancing 0.4%, and materials better by 0.3%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by health-care, sliding 3.8%, while utilities backtracked 0.6% and real-estate slouched 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones industrial average broke above 25,000 for the first time on Thursday, marking the fastest 1,000-point move in its history, following the release of stronger-than-expected jobs data
The 30-stock index roared ahead 152.45 points to 25,075.13, with General Electric, DowDuPont and IBM rising about 2%.
The S&P 500 acquired 10.93 points to 2,723.99, with financials rising 0.9%
The NASDAQ composite index gained 12.38 points to 7,077.92. Both indexes also hit all-time highs.
In corporate news, Tesla released fourth-quarter auto delivery numbers that fell short of many Wall Street estimates. The stock closed 0.8% lower.
The U.S. private sector added 250,000 jobs in December, ADP and Moody's Analytics reported before the opening bell. Economists had expected a gain of 190,000.
Other economic data released Thursday include the IHS Markit services PMI, which hit a seven-month low. These reports will be followed by the U.S. Labor Department's monthly jobs report, which is set for release on Friday.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note regrouped, lowering yields back to Wednesday’s 2.45%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices tacked on 28 cents a barrel to $61.91 U.S.
Gold prices gained $5.30 to $1,323.80 U.S. an ounce.
