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Equities
Canada’s main stock index rose early Friday, helped by strength in energy shares and a better-than-expected reading on September hiring. On Wall Street, key indexes managed modest gains despite a disappointing jobs report south of the border.
At 9:31 a.m. ET, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 58 points, or 0.28 per cent, at 20,474.21.
In the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.63 points, or 0.01 per cent, at the open to 34,757.57.
The S&P 500 opened higher by 6.75 points, or 0.15 per cent, at 4,406.51, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 40.70 points, or 0.28 per cent, to 14,694.72 at the opening bell.
Swissquote senior analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya said all eyes will be on the U.S. hiring numbers Friday.
Figures released by the U.S. Department of Labor showed U.S. hiring rose last month by 194,000. Economists had been forecasting a rise of about 500,000 jobs.
In this country, Statistics Canada says the Canadian economy added 157,000 positions in September. Economists had expected a gain in hiring, but most had been forecasting a number closer to 60,000. The jobless rate in September was 6.9 per cent.
On Thursday, Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem said high inflation could be “a little more persistent” than the central bank previously thought, while the economic recovery could take longer than expected.
The Globe’s Mark Rendell reports that Mr. Macklem, speaking at his first news conference since the summer, said the current spike in inflation is largely the result of temporary factors, such as supply chain disruptions and year-over-year price comparisons. But he acknowledged that these factors are proving to be more complicated and longer-lasting than forecast.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was off 0.15 per cent in afternoon trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.12 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 were down 0.12 per cent and 0.23 per cent, respectively.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed up 1.34 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.55 per cent.
Commodities
Crude prices were higher and on track for solid weekly gains after touching multiyear highs earlier in the week.
The day range on Brent is US$82.20 the range on West Texas Intermediate is US$83.34. The range on West Texas Intermediate is US$78.63 to US$79.66.
“As expected, oil’s sell-off proved very temporary and oil prices rebounded sharply overnight,” OANDA senior analyst Jeffery Halley.
Crude’s rally this week paused briefly on reports that the U.S. Department of Energy is weighing tapping into emergency reserves. However, prices firmed after a Bloomberg reporter tweeted that the U.S. government department isn’t considering such a move “at this time”.
Still, Reuters, citing Department of Energy sources, reported that all “tools are always on the table” to address tight energy supplies.
“I continue to expect any oil price sell-off to be short-lived given the physical demand out there on spot markets for energy,” Mr. Halley said.
“Likewise, I expect the U.S. Non-Farm Payroll data to only have a short-term impact on prices, not a structural one.”
In other commodities, gold was little changed.
Spot gold rose 0.1 per cent to US$1,757.10 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures fell 0.2 per cent to US$1,756.00.
Currencies
The Canadian dollar was higher after an encouraging reading on hiring in September.
The day range on the loonie is 79.60 US cents to 80 US cents.
On world markets, the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six peers, rose 0.1 per cent to 94.294, not far from last week’s one-year high of 94.504, according to figures from Reuters.
The U.S. dollar gained 0.3 per cent to 111.96 yen, and touched 111.975, the highest level this month, helped by higher Treasury yields, with the benchmark U.S. 10-year note hitting 1.6010 per cent for the first time since June 4.
The euro traded around US$1.1550, after weakening on Wednesday to a 14-month low of US$1.1529.
More company news
MTY Food Group Inc. reported a third-quarter profit of $24.3-million, up from $22.9-million a year ago, as the restaurant franchising company recorded a rebound in customer traffic. The Montreal-based company says the profit amounted to 98 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 31, down from 93 cents per diluted share a year earlier. Revenue totalled $150.8 million, up from $135.4 million a year ago.
Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk said the electric carmaker plans to move its headquarters from Palo Alto, California, to Austin, Texas. Musk spoke at Tesla’s annual shareholders’ meeting at its car and battery factory complex in Austin, which is under construction.
Economic news
(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian employment for September.
(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. employment for September.
(10 a.m. ET) U.S. wholesale trade for August.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press
Terry Weber