The Toronto Stock Exchange Broadcast Centre is shown in Toronto in this file photo.Aaron Vincent Elkaim/The Canadian Press
The Toronto Stock Exchange moved ahead slightly near midday, though weakness in commodities and disappointment from bank earnings held off any major gains.
The S&P/TSX composite index ticked up 39.35 points to 14,509.30, with key sectors like energy and gold weaker. The TSX had fallen nearly 300 points on Thursday.
The Canadian dollar was at 87.57 cents US, down 0.54 of a cent, after a slight increase in the country's unemployment rate in November.
TSX financial stocks were mixed after Scotiabank (TSX:BNS) profits weakened in the fourth quarter as it recognized severance expenses for a recently announced downsizing and other items. The bank's net income fell 14 per cent from last year to $1.438-billion.
Scotiabank shares fell $1.02 to $66.56.
National Bank (TSX:NA) boosted its profits a modest three per cent to $330-million and said its quarterly dividend will rise by four per cent to 50 cents per common share with the next payment. Its shares were off 39 cents to $50.01.
The energy sector pulled back 0.2 per cent with the January crude contract down $1.26 at US$65.55 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
February bullion is off $13.50 at US$1,194.20 an ounce, while March copper is off nearly a full cent at US$2.905 a pound.
In economic news, Canada's unemployment rate nudged up in November to 6.6 per cent as 10,700 jobs were lost last month. However, Statistics Canada said the decline was within its survey's margin of error and noted that it followed two months of strong employment growth.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrials gained 51.57 points to 17,951.67. The Nasdaq picked up 13.01 points to 4,782.44 while the S&P 500 index inched ahead 3.12 points to 2,075.04.
U.S. employers added 321,000 jobs in November, the biggest burst of hiring in nearly three years. The U.S. Labor Department also said Friday that 44,000 more jobs were added in September and October combined than the government had previously estimated.
The merger between Tim Hortons Inc. (TSX:THI) and Burger King Worldwide Inc. was approved late Thursday by the federal government, with a list of stipulations that include a five-year promise on jobs for employees at its restaurant locations and a continuation of its current community support levels.
Tim Hortons shares gained 2.5 per cent, or $2.42, to $97.81.
In Europe, markets regained some of their positions after falling on a lack of action from the European Central Bank to announce a fresh stimulus.
Germany's DAX was up 2.1 per cent at 10,060 while the CAC-40 in France rose 2.2 per cent to 4,417. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was 1.1 per cent higher at 6,750.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 added 0.2 per cent to 17,920.45 and South Korea's Kospi closed flat at 1,986.62. Stocks in Hong Kong and mainland China finished higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.7 per cent to 24,002.64 while's China Shanghai Composite rose 1.3 per cent to 2,937.65. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.6 per cent to 5,335.30.