A help wanted sign is posted in the window at "World of Posters" on Yonge St.Charla Jones/The Globe and Mail
The Toronto stock market was higher as Canadian employment during January breezed past expectations and traders put the best face on American jobs data that missed forecasts.
The S&P/TSX composite index was ahead 28.26 points to 13,741.66 as Statistics Canada said the economy created 29,400 jobs, far higher than the 20,000 level that economists had been looking. Canada's unemployment rate slid to 7.0 per cent from 7.2 per cent in December, when the economy unexpectedly shed 44,000 jobs.
The Canadian dollar jumped 0.82 of a cent to 91.15 cents (U.S.) on the data.
U.S. markets were higher even as the U.S. Labor Department reported that 113,00 jobs were created in January against the approximately 180,000 that had been expected.
Still, the unemployment rate moved down to 6.6 per cent from 6.7 per cent, the lowest since October 2008.
The Dow Jones industrial average was 73.81 points lower to 15,702.34, the Nasdaq moved up 34.77 points to 4,091.89 while the S&P 500 were up 12.74 points to 1,786.17.