MONEY IN BRIEF

Currencies

These are indicative wholesale rates for foreign currency provided by the Bank of Canada on Friday. Quotations in Canadian funds. Australia dollar Brazil real China renminbi Euro Hong Kong dollar India rupee Indonesia rupiah Japan yen Malaysia ringgit Mexico peso N.Z. dollar Norway krone Peruvian new sol Russia rouble Saudi riyal Singapore dollar South Africa rand South Korean won Sweden krona Switzerland franc Taiwanese dollar Thailand baht Turkey lira U.K. pound U.S. dollar

Vietnam dong 0.9556 0.4256 0.1878 1.5392 0.1670 0.01904 0.000091 0.01186 0.3244 0.06868 0.8954 0.1632 0.3989 0.02080 0.3494 0.9649 0.09707 0.001174 0.1501 1.3237 0.04302 0.03953 0.2862 1.7383 1.3105 0.000057

Financial highlights

Highlights at the close Friday at world financial market trading. Stocks:

S&P/TSX Composite Index – 16,371.78, up 105.17 points Dow – 24,456.48, up 99.74 points S&P 500 – 2,759.82, up 23.21 points

Nasdaq – 7,688.39, up 101.96 points

Currencies:

Cdn – 76.31 cents US, up 0.14 of a cent

Pound – C$1.7383, up 0.17 of a cent

Euro – C$1.5392, up 0.37 of a cent Euro – US$1.1745, up half a cent Oil futures:

US$73.80, up 86 cents (August contract)

Gold futures:

US$1,255.80 per oz., down $3.00 (August contract)

Canadian Fine Silver Handy and Harman:

Office closed on Fridays ( Thursday: $21.95 oz., $705.69 kg.)

The markets today

TORONTO (CP) — North American stocks rose along with the loonie Friday as jobs numbers from both Canada and the U.S. showed positive but stable growth.

Statistics Canada data showed the economy added 31,800 positions in June, while the unemployment rate rose 0.2 of a percentage point to six per cent as more people started looking for work.

The jobs numbers, along with positive wage growth of 3.6 per cent, looked to be enough to justify rate hike this month, said Cavan Yie, a portfolio manager at Manulife Asset Management. “Good overall, could be better, but good enough for the Bank of Canada to hike rates once again this month.”

The data also showed that many of the added jobs were part-time, self-employed, or public sector jobs that are looked on as less encouraging, but overall the numbers were enough to boost the chances of a rate hike and helped the loonie climb.

The Canadian dollar averaged 76.31 cents US, up 0.14 of a US cent following the Statistics Canada data, but the currency is still under threat from trade disputes, said Yie.