North American markets closed the week on a high note Friday on surprisingly strong economic news from south of the border, including that the U.S. jobless rate has hit a four-year low.
The U.S. Department of Labor announced that 165,000 new jobs were created in April, and that more jobs were created in February and March than previously believed.
The figures drove down the U.S. jobless rate to 7.5 per cent and sent markets soaring, including the S&P/TSX composite index, which closed 58.39 points higher at 12,438.03.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones climbed above 15,000 for the first time ever in early trading. It closed at 14,973.96, up 142.38 points. The Standard & Poor鈥檚 500 index closed at 1,614.42, up 16.83 points, while the Nasdaq closed at 3,378.63, up 38.01 points.
The June crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was up $1.62 to US$95.61 a barrel.
Adrian Mastracci of KCM Wealth Management told The Canadian Press that while the jobs figures are encouraging, there鈥檚 鈥渟till a long way to go鈥� before the U.S. economy fully recovers.
"At this time in an aftermath, we need about 250,000 to 300,000 jobs a month," Mastracci said.
"I'm hoping we'll get them soon, but we're not there yet. It's a positive sign today, but you've still got to be a little bit cautious because I don't think we're there yet."
The revised U.S. jobs figures from February and March showed an additional 114,000 jobs were created in those months, for a total of 332,000 in February and 138,000 in March.
The U.S. economy has now added an average of 208,000 jobs per month from November to April, above the 138,000 monthly average of the previous six months.
Economists pegged the strong jobs figures on a housing market that is slowly bouncing back, rising consumer confidence, and ongoing stimulus from the Federal Reserve that is keeping borrowing costs in check.
However, analysts caution that the jobs figures from April do not point to a continuing upward trend.
"There is little sign in these data to suggest that a marked acceleration in monthly job creation in the months ahead is in the cards," Scott Anderson, chief economist at Bank of the West, told The Associated Press.
The job growth corresponds with modest improvement in economic growth south of the border. The economy grew 2.5 per cent in the January to March quarter, largely on consumer spending including in the housing market.
With stronger economic news in the U.S. comes hope for better economic fortunes in Canada.
鈥淚f you think of the Canadian economy, we鈥檙e going to benefit in two ways,鈥� TD chief economist Craig Alexander told 麻豆传媒. 鈥淎 stronger U.S. economy is going to boost our exports, but then stronger U.S. demand is also going to raise prices for the goods we sell.鈥�
Already in 2013, a strengthening U.S. housing market has led to a boom in exports of Canadian lumber. Exporters report they are receiving the highest prices for their product in eight years.
Andrew Weir of Tourism Toronto said the hope is that Americans who have more money in their pockets will also spend some of it travelling north of the border.
鈥淎ny time there鈥檚 greater economic and employment confidence, that bodes well for business and leisure travel,鈥� Fiorini told 麻豆传媒. 鈥淪o we鈥檙e looking forward to hopefully a busy summer season.鈥�
With a report from CTV鈥檚 John Vennavally-Rao
