U.S. jobs, energy sector embolden investors

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index ended the week higher as investors welcomed strong U.S. jobs data and continued strengthening in the energy sector.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 80.39 points to 16096.07 in a broad-based advance.

The January crude contract was up 67 cents to $57.36 US per barrel, as the price of oil continued to recover from its sharp loss in the middle of the week.

Shares of Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd. were up 4.99 per cent higher at $17.48 at the closing of markets Friday. The stock’s upswing came after Thursday’s news that the National Energy Board has allowed the company to bypass bylaws in Burnaby that stand in the way of its Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project.

South of the border, Wall Street indices reached new milestones amid better-thanexpected data showing American employers added 228,000 jobs last month. The unemployment rate remained at a low 4.1 per cent, as the U.S. economy continues to accelerate.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 117.68 points to 24329.16 and the S&P 500 index was up 14.52 points to 2651.50, both record highs. The Nasdaq composite index was up 27.24 points to 6840.08.

The U.S. jobs report is the last major piece of economic data that will arrive before the U.s. Federal Reserve meets next week to discuss interest rate policy. Most economists expect it to approve the third increase in short-term rates for the year.

“The markets were reassured and impressed by the U.S. employment data. That just continues to show that the U.S is chugging along,” said Jamie Robertson, managing director of the portfolio solutions group at Manulife Asset Management.

“And a result of that, we’re just continuing to see the markets focused on strong fundamentals, and we just see it continue to make steady progress to higher and higher levels.”

In currency markets, the Canadian dollar closed at an average trading price of 77.76 cents US, down 0.10 of a U.S. cent.

Elsewhere in commodities, the January natural gas contract was up a cent to $2.77 US per mmBTU. The February gold contract was down $4.70 to $1,248.40 US an ounce and the March copper contract was up one cent to $2.98 US a pound.