The Toronto Stock Exchange’s main index finished flat on Friday as a rally in commodity issues was offset by weaker financial stocks.

The S&P/TSX composite index finished down 8.66 points, or 0.06%, at 14,363.88.

Seven of the 10 TSX main groups closed lower.

The decline in bank stocks came as stronger-than-expected jobs data from both Canada and the United States quashed expectations of interest rate cuts.

The financial sector slid 0.8% with Bank of Nova Scotia down 55¢, or 1%, to $52.62 and Royal Bank of Canada off 81¢, or 1.5%, to $53.90.

A jump in gold and oil prices boosted resource shares.

A new peak for the price of gold gave the market upward direction as bullion moved past US$800 an ounce for the first time since 1980. The materials group gained 0.8%, while the gold subgroup jumped 2.6%.

Barrick Gold was up $2.22, or 5.5%, to $42.61 and GoldCorp rose $1.05, or 3.3%, to $33.30.

The energy sector gained 0.7% while the price of oil soared $2.44 to US$95.93 a barrel.

Petro Canada shares rose $1.01, or 1.9%, to $54.34 and Suncor Energy rose 49¢, or 0.5%, to $101.50.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index gained 38.91 points, or 1.24%, to end at 3,170.59.

The robust Canadian employment report sent the Canadian dollar well into record territory, surging 1.92¢ to US107.04¢ after rising as high as US107.23¢ at one point.

In New York, U.S. stocks posted modest gains after a roller coaster session.

Stocks spent most of the day in the red after a strong reading of U.S. employment.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 27.23 points, or 0.20%, to end at 13,595.10. The S&P 500 was up 1.21 points, or 0.08%, at 1,509.65. The Nasdaq composite index was up 15.55 points, or 0.56%, at 2,810.38.

For the week, the Dow was down 1.53% and the S&P fell 1.67%, while the Nasdaq rose 0.22%.