Canada's main stock climbs on upbeat US jobs data

Canada's main stock market rose slightly on upbeat U.S. jobs data on Wednesday. Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index added 17.70 points, or 0.1 percent, to 13,614.63, with the healthcare sector leading the increase for a second day. The strong U.S. jobs data aroused investors' speculation whether the U.S. Federal Reserve will speed up the tapering of its monetary stimulus programs, as policymakers have said further scaling back would depend on U.S. economic data, especially in the labor market. Shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. drove the healthcare sector to grow 1.49 percent. Valeant advanced for a second straight day, rising 2.67 percent to 138.64 Canadian dollars per share, after the Canadian drugmaker said Tuesday it planned to become one of the world's top five pharmaceutical companies by market capitalization by the end of 2016 and also released a bullish forecast for 2014. Canadian National Railway was down 1.59 percent to 58.63 Canadian dollars per share as a train carrying crude oil and propane derailed and caught fire in New Brunswick on Tuesday night after the emergency brakes were activated. The Canadian dollar slipped to new multi-year lows, raising investors' concerns about just how far it might go. It hit a three-year low of 0.9235 U.S. dollar early Wednesday as the positive U.S. jobs data boosted the U.S. dollar against major currencies. The Canadian dollar closed at 0.9242 U.S. dollar on Wednesday, down from 0.9290 U.S. dollar on Tuesday.