Canadian Stocks Show Substantial Move Back To The Upside

(RTTNews) - Following the modest pullback seen in the previous session, Canadian stocks showed a substantial move back to the upside during trading on Friday.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index surged 252.74 points or 1.2 percent to 20,545.36. ending the session at its best closing level in a month.

The rally on Bay Street came following the release of the U.S. Labor Department's closely watched monthly employment report.

While the report showed modestly stronger than expected job growth in the month of August, the report also showed an unexpected increase in the unemployment rate.

The unexpected increase in the unemployment rate added to investor optimism about the Federal Reserve leaving interest rates unchanged later this month.

Energy stocks helped lead the way higher, with the S&P/TSX Capped Energy Index surging by 2.0 percent. The strength in the sector came as the price of crude oil for October delivery $1.92 to $85.55 a barrel.

Significant strength was also visible among healthcare stocks, as reflected by the 1.8 percent gain posted by the S&P/TSX Capped Health Care Index.

Consumer staples and financial stocks also saw considerable strength, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

In Canadian economic news, Statistics Canada released a report showing real gross domestic product was nearly unchanged in the second quarter following a 0.6 increase in the first quarter.

Statistics Canada said the slowdown was attributable to continued declines in housing investment, smaller inventory accumulation, as well as slower international exports and household spending.