Canada’s main stock index opened higher on Friday, lifted by technology stocks, as markets assessed U.S. payrolls data, while also watching the escalating conflict in the Middle East.
The TSX Composite Index jumped 128.7 points to begin the week’s final session at 24,097.20.
The Canadian dollar shed 0.15 cents to 73.66 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.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 1.63 points to 591.35.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups gained ground early Friday, with information technology soaring 1%, while financials and consumer discretionary stock each prospered 0.8%.
The three laggards proved to be real-estate, down 0.6%, while consumer staples and gold each hesitated 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed on Friday, erasing an earlier rally after the all-important jobs data crushed expectations.
The 30-stock index recovered 58.11 points to begin Friday at 42,069.70.
The much broader index picked up 19.2 points to 5,719.14
The NASDAQ Composite hiked 113.93 points to 18,032.41.
The Dow hesitated 0.6% and NASDAQ was off by 0.5%, 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 3.96% from Thursday’s 3.85%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices improved 57 cents to $74.28 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices fell $5.40 to $2,673.80 U.S. an ounce
