Solid U.S. jobs data to lift TSX, loonie falls as Canadian jobs data falls short

TORONTO – The Toronto stock market headed for a higher open Friday as job creation data in the U.S. came in well above expectations.

Other data showed Canadian employment figures registered a big miss, with the economy shedding 7,000 jobs last month against the gain of 15,000 that economists had expected.

The unemployment rate was unchanged at 7 per cent.

The Canadian dollar lost ground following the report, moving down 0.34 of a cent to 90.64 cents US.

New York futures pointed to a strong open after the U.S. Labor Department reported that the economy created 175,000 jobs last month, well above expectations for 139,000 job gains. The unemployment rate rose to 6.7 per cent from 6.6 per cent.

The Dow Jones industrial futures ran up 74 points to 16,489, the Nasdaq futures rose 10 points to 3,732 and the S&P 500 futures were ahead 8.6 points to 1,884.9.

On the commodity markets, the April crude contract in New York was 77 cents higher to US$102.33 a barrel.

May copper tumbled nine cents to US$3.12 a pound while April bullion fell $11.70 to US$1,340.10 an ounce.

On the corporate front, Penn West Petroleum Ltd. (TSX:PWT) had a quarterly net loss of $728 million or $1.49 a share compared with a year-earlier net loss of $78 million or 16 cents per share. The most recent loss was mostly due to non-cash asset impairment charges related to the company’s disposal of natural gas assets as it focuses on light oil production.

The National Energy Board has given the go-ahead to energy giant Enbridge’s plan to reverse the flow and increase the capacity of its Line 9 pipeline that runs between Sarnia, Ont., and Montreal. The approval is subject to a number of conditions, which include Enbridge (TSX:ENB) being required to undertake activities involving pipeline integrity, emergency response and continued consultation with stakeholders and the public.

Overseas, Chinese authorities have allowed the country’s first corporate bond default. Investors in bonds sold in 2012 by Chaori Solar Energy Science & Technology Co., a manufacturer of solar panels, were paid as little as three per cent of the interest that was due Friday.

Until now, Beijing has bailed out troubled borrowers to preserve confidence in its fledgling credit markets. But the ruling Communist Party has pledged to allow market forces a bigger role.

Investors could be nervous going into the weekend. The week start started off with a selloff on markets after Russian troops last weekend invaded Ukraine’s Crimea region, where it has major military installations and many people are Russian speaking. But markets regained their footing by the following day as it became apparent that Western countries weren’t planning on an armed response to that incursion.

European markets were mixed as German industrial production rose 0.8 per cent in January compared with the previous month.

London’s FTSE 100 index declined 0.2 per cent, Frankfurt’s DAX fell 0.7 per cent and the Paris CAC 40 gained 0.22 per cent.

Earlier in Asia, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.1 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average gained 0.9 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.2 per cent.