Toronto stocks up in late-morning trading, U.S. stocks surge higher

TORONTO -- Canada's main stock index was up in late-morning trading, helped by the energy and materials sectors, as U.S. markets surged higher.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 30.14 points to 15,568.84, after 90 minutes of trading.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 259.11 points to 25,154.32. The S&P 500 index was up 27.59 points to 2,766.56 and the Nasdaq composite index was up 78.66 points to 7,506.61.

The gains followed strong U.S. jobs figures as well as President Donald Trump's announcement of new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and news that Trump plans to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The Canadian dollar was trading at US77.90 cents, up from an average price of US77.36 cents on Thursday following a Statistics Canada report that Canada added 15,400 jobs in February.

The April crude contract was up US$1.04 to US$61.16 per barrel and the April natural gas contract was down one cent at US$2.75 per mmBTU.

The April gold contract was up US$1.10 to US$1,322.80 an ounce and the May copper contract was up six cents to US$3.14 a pound.

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