By Adriano Marchese
Stocks in Toronto are capping off the first week of trading in 2023, rising firmly in green territory on midday Friday. Canada reported that the country added 104,000 jobs in December, nearly 10 times higher than consensus expectations, lowering unemployment to 5% from 5.1% in November. In the session, most of Canada's sectors were higher, led by materials and energy. Commercial services was the outsized laggard, followed by consumer services. Copper Mountain Mining Corp. shares rose after it said it has fully restarted its production after a ransomware attack in late December.
Canada's S&P/TSX Composite Index were up 1.26% at 19752.91, and the blue-chip S&P/TSX 60 rose 1.27% to 1191.62.
Copper Mountain Mining Corp. shares jumped over 10% to C$1.92 after it said it has resumed operations on Jan. 1 of its primary crusher at the Copper Mountain mine in British Columbia followed by its mill on Jan. 4 after it was hit by a ransomware attack on Dec. 27, a malware that is designed to block out users from their IT systems until a ransom is paid.
Other market movers:
Vermilion Energy Inc. shares rose 1.2% to C$20.57 after it said it would focus on debt reduction with most of its free cash flow in 2023 and has made plans to return more capital to its shareholders in the year.
NexGen Energy Ltd. said it is looking to raise 250 million Canadian dollars ($184.2 million) by way of an at-the-market equity program. Shares are up 1.9% at C$5.86.
Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-06-23 1219ET
