Markets headed higher Friday on jobs data that was well received by traders. The U.S. employment report for May was taken as a sign that the labour market might be improving, or at least holding steady.

Markets raced ahead at the open, but are now pulling back at bit. The S&P/TSX composite index is still hanging onto a 46 point gain at 7,081.

Volume is robust at 148 million shares, with the buying swamping the selling by a four to one margin. Market breadth is also definitively positive, with winners outpacing losers 32:19.

Every sector is joining in the rally today; there is nothing that’s down. The strongest gains are coming in the most speculative stocks, with techs up 2.7%.

Most of the other sector gains are more modest, in fact nothing else is up as much as 1%. There are, however, solid gains in consumer discretionary stocks, financials and industrials.

As usual, Nortel is powering the tech space, up 3% on heavy volume of 25 million shares. Cognos is up 6%, and there are gains in Geac, Certicom and Celestica. CGI Group is down however. The biotechs are also up, with gains in ConjuChem and Lorus Therapeutics. The gains are restrained by weakness in Aeterna, MDS and Vasogen.

Financials may not be rallying as aggressively, but they are a strong area of support. CIBC is leading the way, up 2.3% in active trading. TD Bank and Royal Bank are both higher. Fairfax is up 3.3% on news that it is buying back stock because it believes the firm is undervalued.

There are also gains in Shaw Communications, Methanex, and Golden Star Resources. Martinrea has enjoyed a 3.6% gain on news that it has won $47 million in new contracts this week.

On the downside, there is selling in Rio Narcea, ATS Automated Tooling, Telus, Canadian Tire and Enerplus.

In earnings news, Groupe Laperriere & Verreault has posted net earnings of $8.3 million for its full year, compared with $12.9 million the previous year.

In New York, markets celebrated moderating job losses with an almost 200-point gain on the Dow Jones industrial average at the open, but that has now pulled back to a 92 point rally. The Dow is sitting at 9,133.

The S&P 500 was above the 1,000 mark briefly, but is now sitting at 995, a five point gain. The Nasdaq composite index has gained four points to 1,650.

Even the small caps are joining the fun today, with a three point gain, pushing the S&P/TSX Venture index to 1097. Volume is hefty there too at 26.8 million shares. Transition Therapeutics is the day’s top trader, down 7¢ to 45¢ on huge volume of 7.9 million shares.