U.S. job data, oil give TSX a boost

The Toronto stock market closed higher Friday as a much better than expected employment report from the United States reinforced hopes that its economy is steadily recovering from the worst recession since World War II.

Signs of a recovery in the economy of Canada’s biggest trading partner bolstered investor hopes that demand for Canadian products and resources could soon get a boost. The S&P/TSX composite index gained 23.8 points to 12,577.28, its best level since early September, 2011 with gains limited by a sharp loss in gold stocks. The TSX Venture Exchange was up 4.54 points to 1,665.11.

The U.S. Labor Department reported that the economy created 243,000 jobs, far higher than the 150,000 jobs that economists had expected. The U.S. unemployment rate fell from 8.5 per cent to 8.3 per cent.

The Canadian dollar was up 0.6 of a cent (U.S.) to 100.64 cents following the positive U.S. employment news.

However, Statistics Canada’s report on January economy showed this country created only 2,300 jobs last month, a far cry from the 25,000 that economists had expected. Canada’s national unemployment rate climbed one notch to 7.6 per cent, as more people looked for work. New York’s Dow Jones industrials jumped 156.82 points to 12,862.23, the highest since May, 2008, while the Nasdaq composite index gained 45.98 points to 2,905.66, its highest level since December, 2000. The S&P 500 index rose 19.36 points to 1,344.9. The TSX energy sector rose 1.05 per cent as the March crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange moved up $1.48 to $97.84 a barrel. The base metals sector rose almost two per cent while the March copper contract was up 12 cents to $3.90 a pound. The gold sector fell about 2.5 per cent as the American jobs data en- couraged investors to buy into riskier assets. The April contract moved down $19 to $1,740.30 an ounce.