TSX up as oil prices rise, U.S. jobs data impresses

The Toronto Stock Exchange was up early Thursday after some positive U.S. jobs data and a surge in oil prices.

Shortly after trading started, the S&P/TSX composite index was up 61.38 points, or 0.46%, to 13,464.48.

Among the data coming from the U.S. Thursday, ADP Employer Services said private companies added 157,000 jobs last month, well ahead of economists expectations for about 70,000.

Also, the U.S. Labor Department said there initial jobless claims declined 14,000 to 418,000 last week. Economists expected 420,000.

Official jobs data is due for both Canada and the U.S. on Friday. Experts are anticipating a rise of 15,000 people in the number of people who were had jobs in Canada last month, while U.S. job numbers are expected to have increased by 100,000.

In Canadian corporate news Thursday, Cogeco Inc. and its Cogeco Cable Inc. both reported better-than-expected results even though the bottom line showed net losses driven by a $225.9-million writeoff on its Portuguese cable operations.

Crude oil was up $2.21 to US$98.86 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while gold declined 90 cents to US$1,528.30 an ounce.

The Canadian dollar was up 65 basis points to US$1.0421.

On U.S. stock markets, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 68.8 points, or 0.54%, to 12,694.82 shortly after the open. The Nasdaq composite index was ahead 22.32 points, or 0.79%, to 2,856.34.

European markets also did well. London’s FTSE index was up 63.88 points, or 1.06%, to 6,066.80. The Paris CAC was ahead 54.42 points, or 1.37%, to 4,015.76. In Frankfurt, the DAX gained 68.24 points, or 0.92%, to 7,499.43.

The European Central Bank on Thursday raised its benchmark interest rate a quarter point to 1.5%, while the Bank of England held steady at 0.5%.

Asian markets were mixed. Tokyo’s Nikkei index declined 11.34 points, or 0.11%, to 10,071.14. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was up 12.63 points, or 0.06%, to 2,2530.18. Mainland China’s Shanghai composite was down 16.21 points, or 0.58%, to 2,794.27.

On Wednesday, the TSX was down 22.2 points, or 0.16%, to 13,403.10. The Dow Jones rose 56.15 points, or 0.45%, to 12,626.02. The Nasdaq rose 8.25 points, or 0.29%, to 2,834.02.