The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index rose 180.36 points, or 0.74%, to an all-time high of 24,482.62 in morning trade. The index was set for its fifth straight weekly gain.
Canada’s unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 6.5% for the first time in eight months, after the country added a net 46,700 jobs in September.
“Overall, most of those hires were full-time jobs, which is always seen as high quality in terms of job growth,” said Chris McHaney, head of investment management and strategy at Global X.
“I think the markets overall are looking at it as a positive.”
At least nine sectors rose on the TSX, led by a 1.1% rise in materials tracking higher gold prices against the soft dollar. A rise in copper prices also provided support.
The top individual gainers were NovaGold Resources Inc, Fortuna Mining Corp and Celestica Inc, which rose between 2.9% and 3.7%.
However, energy and healthcare were down 0.2% and 0.3% respectively.
While the data allayed concerns about the labor market, it also weakened the case for an outsized rate cut by the Bank of Canada.
Bets for a 50-basis-point cut have now fallen to 37% from 51.6% the day before, while bets for a quarter-point cut have increased to 63% from 48.4%.
Across the border, US producer prices were unchanged in September, supporting views that the Fed will cut interest rates again next month.
Wall Street kicked off the earnings season with major financial institutions such as JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and BlackRock reporting strong quarterly results.
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