Stocks held onto their early gains on Friday, following an upbeat reading on U.S. payroll gains in March.
At noon, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 92 points or 0.7 per cent, to 12,411 - marking a new post-recovery high for the blue-chip index. The broader S&P 500 was up 11 points or 0.8 per cent, to 1,337, though still shy of its high in mid-February.
Economically sensitive areas of the stock market showed the biggest gains, suggesting greater confidence in the recovery. Consumer discretionary stocks rose 1.3 per cent, while industrials and financials rose 1.2 per cent each.
Telecom services were the biggest laggards, falling 0.4 per cent. Meanwhile, defensive consumer staples and health care stocks were in line with the broader market, rising 0.7 per cent each.
In Canada, the S&P/TSX composite index was up 54 points or 0.4 per cent, to 14,170.
Energy stocks rose 0.7 per cent after the price of crude oil rose to a fresh two-and-a-half year high of $107.69 (U.S.) a barrel, up 97 cents. Financials and telecom services rose 0.5 per cent each.
However materials slumped 0.5 per cent after the price of gold took a step back, falling to $1426 an ounce, down about $14.