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Roundup: Canadian stock market climbs higher on solid U.S. job data

Xinhua, May 9, 2015 Adjust font size:

Canada's main stock market in Toronto moved ahead on Friday as the latest upbeat job report in the U.S. labor market helped boost trading sentiment.

Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index was up 81.20 points, or 0.54 percent, to 15,170.02 points, with six of the eight major sectors higher to conclude the market this week.

According to the latest job data released by the U.S. Labor Department Friday, the total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 223,000 in April, and the unemployment rate dropped to 5.4 percent, near a seven-year low.

Moreover, Statistics Canada announced that the Canadian unemployment rate held steady at 6.8 percent for the third consecutive month, although the employment edged down in April by 20,000.

TSX gainers were led by the energy sector with an increase of 1. 44 percent, after the market digested the concerns caused by the election victory of once-marginal New Democratic Party (NDP) in Canada's oil-producing province of Alberta. The NDP swept to victory over conservatives on Tuesday night, which widely aroused investors' concerns about Alberta's energy development policy in future.

Meanwhile, this sector was also boosted by the rising oil prices when June crude oil contract rose 0.45 U.S. dollar to 59.39 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. added 0.08 percent to 12.28 Canadian dollars (about 10.16 U.S. dollars), while Suncor Energy Inc. rose 1.04 percent to 36.77 Canadian dollars. However, the sector as a whole moved down more than 4 percent this week.

Friday also witnessed an increase of 1.22 percent in Healthcare as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. rose 0.91 percent to 267.86 Canadian dollars, and Concordia Healthcare Corp. climbed 2.97 percent to 87.10 Canadian dollars.

Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, advanced 0.28 percent. Manulife Financial Corp. grew 0.31 percent to 22.98 Canadian dollars while Royal Bank of Canada gained 0.44 percent to 79.18 Canadian dollars.

Industrials and Info-tech edged up 0.61 percent and 0.48 percent, respectively.

However, metals and mining sector lost ground by 0.33 percent. First Quantum Minerals Ltd. tumbled 1.30 percent to 18.26 Canadian dollars and Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. fell 1.14 percent to 5. 19 Canadian dollars.

Telecom gave back 1.64 percent as Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. slumped 3.69 percent to 26.37 Canadian dollars; Rogers Communications Inc. retreated 0.96 percent to 43.47 Canadian dollars.

On the real estate slate, Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp., Canada's authority on housing, reported Friday that the seasonally adjusted annualized rate of housing starts fell to 181,814 in April from a downwardly revised 189,546 units in March, less than expected.

On the currency front, the Canadian dollar Friday moved higher to 0.8271 U.S. dollar, compared with 0.8251 U.S. dollar on Thursday. Endite