Canada’s main stock index hit a record high in early trading on Friday, led by gains in technology stocks, after a sharp increase in U.S. payrolls data raised hopes of a soft landing for the country’s economy.
The TSX Composite Index jumped 171.76 points to stop for noon at 24,140.26.
The Canadian dollar shed 0.18 cents to 73.62 cents U.S.
On the economic front, the IVEY PMI survey for September rose to 53.1 from 48.2 in August. A reading above 50 indicates an increase in activity.
In corporate news, Canadian news and information conglomerate Thomson Reuters said it was selling its FindLaw business to Internet Brands. Thomson shares dropped $2.57, or 1.1%, to $226.38.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange hiked 6.04 points, or 1%, to 595.96.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups gained ground midday Friday, with information technology soaring 1.3%, while energy took on 1.2%, and consumer discretionary stocks tacked on 1%.
The two laggards proved to be real-estate, down 0.5%, while consumer staples sank 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 edged higher on Friday after an expectation-defying jobs report left investors wondering what’s next for the path of interest rates.
The Dow Jones Industrials recovered 148.92 points to 42,160.51.
The much broader index picked up 25.48 points to 5,725.46
The NASDAQ Composite hiked 143.06 points to 18,061.53.
The Dow and NASDAQ were each off by 0.4%, on the week. The S&P 500 was poised to shed 0.3%.
Tesla, Amazon and Netflix were among the megacap tech names climbing on Friday, explaining the Nasdaq’s outperformance.
Stocks initially popped after data showed nonfarm payrolls grew by 254,000 jobs in September, far outpacing the forecasted gain of 150,000 from economists polled by Dow Jones. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1% despite expectations for it to hold steady at 4.2%.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury dropped making yields pop to 3.97% from Thursday’s 3.85%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices improved $1.37 to $75.08 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices fell $10.60 to $2,668.60 U.S. an ounce
