Canada's main stock index rebounds on jobs data

Stimulated by positive jobs data, Canada's main stock index rebounded 80.32 points to conclude this week's trading, reversing a three-day decline. The S&P/TSX composite index climbed 0.61 percent to 13,280.72 points, with most shares regaining the momentum. The jobs data from Statistics Canada showed that employment continued on a slightly upward trend for the third consecutive month, edging up 22,000 in November. The unemployment rate held steady at 6.9 percent for the third month in a row. Meanwhile, the performance of the U.S. labor market also promoted investor confidence. The U.S. Labor Department reported Friday that American employers added 203,000 people to their payrolls in November, while a separate survey of households showed the unemployment rate dropped to 7 percent, the lowest in five years. Having been sluggish for this week, the financial sector at last advanced when traders eliminated the passive influence exerted by the quarterly results from big Canadian banks. Royal Bank of Canada was up 1.3 percent to 69.05 Canadian dollars (64.90 U.S. dollars) per share, while Toronto-Dominion Bank gained 1.12 percent to 95.46 Canadian dollars (89.7 U.S. dollars) per share. Scotiabank posted a quarterly net income of 1.7 billion Canadian dollars (1.6 billion U.S. dollars), up 12 percent from a year ago. In the industrial sector, Canadian Pacific Railway improved by 1.81 percent to 164.26 Canadian dollars (154.4 U.S. dollars) and Bombardier Inc. up 1.96 percent to 4.69 Canadian dollars (4.4 U.S. dollars) apiece. In currency performance, the Canadian dollar inched a bit higher, ending at 94.03 U.S. cents, compared with 93.92 U.S. cents on Wednesday.