TSX gets lift from positive U.S. jobs data

TORONTO • The Toronto stock market closed with a small gain Friday as jobcreation data in the U.S. came in well above expectations.

The S&P/TSX composite index was ahead 27.16 points at 14,299.08, well off the best levels of the session as China growth concerns sent copper prices and base metal stocks lower.

The Canadian dollar tumbled 0.81 of a cent to US90.17¢ as other data showed the Canadian economy shed 7,000 jobs last month against a gain of 15,000 that economists had expected.

The Dow industrials gained 30.83 points to 16,452.72, while the Nasdaq dropped 15.91 points to 4,336.22, and the S&P 500 index added 1.01 points to 1,878.04.

The week start started off with a selloff on markets after Russian troops last weekend invaded Ukraine’s Crimea region, where it has major military installations and many people are Russian-speaking.

Markets quickly regained their footing, but there was nervousness Friday after a warning from the chief executive of Russian state gas company Gazprom.

He said if Ukraine doesn’t pay its $1.89-billion debt for natural gas, “there is a risk of returning to the situation of the beginning of 2009.” At that time, Russia cut off supplies to Europe because of a pricing dispute with Ukraine.

The gold sector fell just over 1% as April bullion retreated $13.60 to US$1,338.10 an ounce. The TSX ran ahead 0.62% this past week, while the Dow industrials rose 0.8%.