Canadian shares rose as the U.S. added jobs in June and investors speculated when the Federal Reserve might hike interest rates.
The benchmark Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index (TSE:OSPTX) rose 0.3 percent to 14,601.17 at 12:48 p.m. in Toronto. Eight out of ten share groups were in the positive territory.
The U.S. economy added 223,000 jobs in June, following a 254,000 increase last month that was revised downward, a Labor Department report showed Thursday in Washington. The jobless rate fell to a seven-year low of 5.3 percent as more people left the workforce, while wages stagnated.
U.S. Federal Reserve policy makers have been watching the labor market as they consider raising the benchmark interest rate this year from near zero.
Sentiment in Canada is often influenced by news out of the United States, Canada's largest trading partner.
The energy sector, the main index's second most heavily weighted group, inched up 0.1 percent as oil, Canada’s largest export, climbed.
Suncor Energy (TSE:SU), Canada's largest oil sands producer, gained 1.1 percent to C$34.76. Canadian Natural Resources Limited (TSE:CNQ), Canada’s second-largest energy producer, slipped 0.2 percent to C$33.84.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate August crude added 1.3 percent to $57.70 a barrel. Brent crude, the global-oil benchmark, rose 1.2 percent to $62.77 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange.
The materials sub-index, which includes mining shares, fell 0.4 percent even as gold cut some losses. Goldcorp (TSE:G), Canada’s largest gold miner by market value, slipped 0.2 percent to C$20.23. Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX), the second-largest, sank 1.6 percent to C$13.14.
Detour Gold (TSE:DGC) sank 1.4 percent to C$14.18. The operator of the Detour Lake mine in Canada said its IT systems were attacked by hackers, causing a breach in confidential information about current and former employees. IT experts are investigating the source of the hack, and the risks the gold producer could face in possible future attacks.
Potash (TSE:POT) advanced 0.5 percent to C$38.89. German fertilizer producer K+S plans to reject Potash's takeover bid, according to a Bloomberg report.
Spot gold had slid to $1,159.60 an ounce, its lowest since March 18, before the U.S. data and was trading 0.4 percent down at $1,164.16. It had lost about 1 percent in the previous two sessions.
Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, edged lower 0.2 percent. Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY), which has the heaviest weighting in the index, fell 0.5 percent to C$75.98, expanding this year’s loss to 5.3 percent.
Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD), the second-largest bank by market value, weakened 0.3 percent to C$52.89.
Loblaw Cos. (TSE:L), Canada’s biggest grocery store chain, gained 0.7 percent to C$63.53, reversing an earlier slump. Workers at nine Loblaw Cos. stores across Ontario are striking, with workers at 60 more stores expected to begin striking on Sunday. The food and pharmacy company says it will continue to operate the nine stores. Negotiations led by a provincially appointed mediator begin Thursday afternoon.
Sears Canada (TSE:SCC), the embattled department-store chain, fluctuated between gains and loss and was last trading at C$7.53, down 0.4 percent. CEO Ronald D. Boire will be leaving at the end of the summer for the U.S., where he will head up Barnes & Noble’s (NYSE:BKS) retail business. Sears said board chairman Brandon G. Stranzl will serve as executive chairman until a replacement is found.
The junior S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (CVE:OSPVX) rose 0.3 percent to 673.60 at 12:20 p.m. in Toronto.
In economic news, the Canadian manufacturing sector perked up in June, showing growth for the first time in five months as new business orders and employment improved, data showed today. The RBC Canadian Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' index (PMI), a measure of manufacturing business conditions, rose to a seasonally adjusted 51.3 last month from 49.8 in May.
In the U.S. market, shares gave up early and turned marginally lower today as investors weighed a soft jobs report, as well as lingering uncertainty tied to Greece. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) skidded 0.1 percent to 2,075.77 at 11:49 a.m. in New York. The 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) slipped 0.1 percent 17,738.93, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) declined 0.3 percent to 5,000.67. Most followed shares included Health Net, Centene, Progress Software, MBIA, XOOM, Boeing, Family Dollar, AutoNation, Tesla, and Potash.