U.S. stock markets hit all-time high

TORONTO — U.S. stock markets shrugged off weaker than expected jobs data and hit all-time highs Friday, while lower oil prices weighed on the Toronto stock market.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index retreated 27.16 points to 15,442.75, led by the energy sector, which lost 1.67 per cent.

The oil-sensitive loonie lost 0.02 of a cent to 74.05 cents US as the July oil contract slipped 70 cents to US$47.66 per barrel.

The decline in crude prices came amid expectations that energy production in the U.S., which has already ramped up in recent months, could expand further after President Donald Trump announced America’s withdrawal from the Paris climate accord.

Analysts at Germany’s Commerzbank said they expect oil and gas production to continue rising “even more sharply” following Trump’s announcement Thursday.

In New York, all three of the main stock indexes hit new records in spite of disappointing jobs data.

U.S. employers added 138,000 jobs last month, falling shy of economists’ expectations. Friday’s jobs report also said hiring was weaker in March and April than previously reported.

But investors appeared unfazed, pushing the Dow Jones industrial average up 62.11 points to 21,206.29. The S&P 500 index added 9.01 points to 2,439.07 while the Nasdaq composite index rose 58.97 points to 6,305.80.

Sid Mokhtari, executive director and market technician at CIBC World Markets, said the gains demonstrate the strength of U.S. stock markets.

“We’re going into a seasonal phase where stock markets tend to get softer, yet we’re seeing strong performance out of equity markets in the U.S.,” Mokhtari said.

Elsewhere in commodities, the August gold contract added $10.10 to US$1,280.20 while July copper lost one cent at US$2.58 a pound and July natural gas lost nearly a penny to US$3.00 per mmBTU.