Loonie soars after strong job growth; Stocks in Toronto trade higher

The Canadian Press</span>
Published Friday, December 1, 2017 5:48AM EST
Last Updated Friday, December 1, 2017 11:26AM EST

TORONTO - The Canadian dollar surged following better-than-expected economic data that showed big job gains last month.

The loonie was trading at 78.56 cents US, up from an average price of 77.59 cents US on Thursday, after Statistics Canada said the economy added 79,500 jobs in November blowing past the 10,000 that economists had expected.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 21.91 points to 16,089.39, after 90 minutes of trading.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 36.54 points to 24,308.89. The S&P 500 index was up 1.85 points to 2,649.43 and the Nasdaq composite index was down 6.88 points to 6,867.09.

The January crude contract was up US$1.26 to US$58.66 per barrel and the January natural gas contract was up five cents to US$3.08 per mmBTU.

The February gold contract was down 30 cents to US$1,276.40 an ounce and the March copper contract was up five cents to US$3.11 a pound.

Let's block ads! (Why?)