TORONTO (CP) — The Toronto stock market got a bump on Friday as strength in the metals and mining and energy sectors helped overshadow a weak U.S. jobs report.
The S&P/TSX composite index reversed an early decline to rise 97.85 points to 13,339.74, closing out a volatile week that remained locked on concerns about the ripple effects of China’s struggling economy.
But traders shifted their attention on Friday morning to a surprisingly bad report from the U.S. Labor Department. Employers added 142,000 workers in September, a much lower figure than the 200,000 anticipated on Wall Street.
The unemployment rate stayed at 5.1 per cent, but that was only because many Americans stopped looking for work.
The data was immediately regarded as dismal and it sent U.S. government bond prices higher, driving down the American dollar against most other major currencies. That included the loonie, which rose 0.52 of a U.S. cent to 75.96 cents.
Throughout the day that pessimistic sentiment appeared to fade, helped by a climb in commodities stocks.
“There were some people who thought the jobs number was going to create more uncertainty about timing — and the market would react negatively,” said Norman Raschkowan, senior partner at Sage Road Advisors.
“But the negative initial response didn’t last.”
The TSX energy sector gained 2.6 per cent as the November contract for benchmark crude oil advanced 80 cents to settle at US$45.54 a barrel. The November contract for natural gas added two cents to US$2.45 per thousand cubic feet.
December gold futures gained two per cent, or $22.90, to US$1,136.60 an ounce.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 200.36 points to 16,472.37, while the broader S&P 500 added 27.54 points to 1,951.36 and the Nasdaq gained 80.70 points to 4,707.78.
Meanwhile, sentiment also turned positive among some investors who reasoned that the U.S. Federal Reserves was unlikely to raise interest rates any time soon as a result of the weak American jobs numbers. Among other things, Fed chairwoman Janet Yellen has said the U.S. central bank wants to ensure the employment market is on a solid footing before raising rates.
The Fed has kept its trend-setting policy rate at historical lows near zero since the Great Recession, a move that is credited with helping provide some of the liquidity that has fuelled the recovery on equity markets.
In corporate news, layoffs were taking place on both sides of the border with the National Bank of Canada (TSX:NB) saying it would cut several hundred jobs as part of a restructuring resulting from the economic slowdown.
In the U.S., Wal-Mart laid off 450 workers at its Bentonville, Ark. headquarters as the retailer looks for ways to compete, particularly with e-commerce retailers like Amazon.com.
— With files from The Associated Press
David Friend, The Canadian Press
