The Toronto Stock Exchange‘s S&P/TSX composite index rose as much as 180.36 points, or 0.74%, in morning trade to touch an all-time high of 24,482.62. The index was set for its fifth consecutive weekly rise.
Canada’s unemployment rate unexpectedly fell for the first time in 8 months to 6.5%, while the country added a net 46,700 jobs in September.
“Overall, most of those jobs were full-time jobs, which is always viewed as higher quality in terms of job growth,” said Chris McHaney, head of investment management and strategy at Global X.
“I think markets overall are seeing that as a positive.”
At least nine sectors on the TSX gained, led by a 1.1% rise in materials tracking higher gold prices against a soft dollar. A rise in copper prices also lent support. Top individual gainers were NovaGold Resources Inc, Fortuna Mining Corp and Celestica Inc , that rose between 2.9% to 3.7%. However, the energy and healthcare fell 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 reduced to 37% from 51.6% earlier in the day, while those for a quarter-point cut have increased to 63% from 48.4%.
Across the border, U.S. producer prices were unchanged in September, supporting views that the Fed would cut interest rates again next month.
Wall Street kick-started the earnings season, with major financial institutions like JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo , and BlackRock’s reporting strong quarterly results.
