(RTTNews) - After opening modestly higher, the Canadian market gained further ground in positive territory Friday morning, supported by strong gains in materials, technology, utilities and energy sectors.
Slight optimism about a positive outcome from the upcoming diplomatic talks between the U.S. and Iran contributed to the bullish sentiment in the market.
Investors also digested the nation's jobs data.
The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index was up 205.60 points or 0.61% at 33,683.31 about a quarter before noon.
The Materials Capped Index climbed 1.8%. Novagold Resources, Ivanhoe Mines, Lundin Gold, 5N Plus, Teck Resources, Lundin Mining Corp., Transcontinental Inc., Ngex Minerals, Capstone Copper, Hudbay Minerals and Barrick Mining Corporation gained 3%-5%.
The Information Technology Capped Index moved up nearly 2%. Celestica soared nearly 8%. Open Text Corporation, BlackBerry and Tecsys gained 2%-2.5%. Bitfarms, CGI and Enghouse Systems also posted strong gains.
Energy stocks Athabasca Oil Corp., Parex Resources, Headwater Exploration, Baytex Energy and Freehold Royalties gained 2%-3.5%.
Among utilities stocks, Atco, Transalta Corporation, Capital Power Corporation, Emera Inc., Fortis, Brookfield Infra Partners, Hydro One, Algonquin Power & Utilities, Canadian Utilities and Superior Plus moved up 1%-2%.
Data from Statistics Canada showed the Canadian employment edged up by 14,000 in March 2026, following a cumulative decline of 109,000 over the first two months of 2026 and roughly in line with forecasts of a 15,000 rise.
The unemployment rate in Canada stood at 6.7% in March, unchanged from the prior month and slightly below the expected 6.8%.
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