North American stock markets appear poised to continue heading upward on Friday as investors look to make sense of U.S. and Canadian employment numbers.

In Canada, 41,800 jobs were lost in May, most of which came in the manufacturing sector Ontario, pushing the country’s unemployment rate to an 11-year high of 8.4%, up from 8% in April. A total of 363,000 Canadians have now lost their jobs since October 2008.

However, the story was more positive in the U.S. Nonfarm payrolls fell 345,000 in May, the U.S. Labour Department reported, well below the 525,000 decline economists expected and the smallest fall since September 2008, when the recession intensified after the demise of Lehman Brothers. The unemployment rate jumped 0.5 percentage points to 9.4%, the highest since August 1983. Economists had expected a 9.2% rate.

Meanwhile, markets performed well overseas in Friday trading. In Europe, Germany’s DAX was up 28.05 points, or 0.6%, at 5,092.85 while France’s CAC-40 index rose 33.75 points, or 1%, to 3,345.78. Britain’s FTSE 100 index was the big gainer in Europe, rising 67.99 points, or 1.6 %, to 4,454.93.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average rose 99.05 points, or 1%, to an eight-month high of 9,768.01 while Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng closed up 1% to 18,679.53 in see-saw trade.

On Thursday. the S&P/TSX composite index surged 187.12 points, or 1.8%, to close at 10,477.24.

The heavyweight energy group jumped 2.8% as oil futures rose by almost 5%.

Shares of Suncor Energy Inc. soared 4.9% to $37.50 and Petro-Canada surged 4.8% to $47.15 as shareholders gave their overwhelming approval to Suncor’s acquisition of the former Crown oil company, creating Canada’s largest energy producer.

The sub-gold index on the TSX gained 2.5%.

Financial stocks gained 1.9% on Thursday.

Junior companies on the TSX Venture Exchange also advanced on Thursday, sending the benchmark index up 25.2 points, or 2.3%, to 1,133.16.

The Canadian dollar rose by almost a cent on Thursday to close at US91.17¢.

U.S. equities also registered gains on Thursday. The Dow Jones industrial average added 74.96 points, or 0.9%, to close at 8,750.24.

The S&P 500 index 10.7 points, or 1.2%, to end at 942.46.

The Nasdaq composite index rose 24.1 points, or 1.3%, to 1,850.02.

IE