North American stock markets closed higher Thursday ahead of Friday’s reports on Canadian and U.S. employment during August.

The S&P/TSX composite index finished up 112.41 points, or 0.82%, to 13,795.69 with gains led by mining stocks.

The gold sector gained 6.6% with the December bullion contract on the Nymex ahead $13.90 to US$704.60 an ounce.

Barrick Gold shares jumped $3.06 to $38.10 and Kinross Gold rose 94¢ to $13.95.


The metals and mines sector gained 2% with Inmet Mining ahead $4.68 to $94.88.

The energy sector was up 1.1% as oil prices edged higher on news from the U.S. Energy Department that crude and gasoline supplies slipped last week.

The October crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed up 57¢ to US$76.30 a barrel and Petro-Canada advanced 69¢ to $55.73.

The financial sector slipped 0.33%.

Shares in Royal Bank declined 4¢ to $53.96 after subsidiary RBC Centura Banks said it is paying US$1.6 billion in cash and stock for Alabama National BanCorporation, the parent of 11 smaller U.S. banks.

National Bank shares fell 93¢ to $53.25.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index climbed 59.44 points to 2,704.46.

The Canadian dollar rose 0.09 of a cent to US95.01¢.

In New York, U.S. stocks rose, led by industrial and pharmaceutical shares.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 57.88 points, or 0.44%, at 13,363.35. The S&P 500 was up 6.26 points, or 0.43%, at 1,478.55. The Nasdaq composite index rose 8.37 points, or 0.32%, at 2,614.32.

Trading was light ahead of Friday’s U.S. employment report. The data is expected to shed some light on the U.S. economy’s performance in August as a faltering housing market nearly brought some credit markets to a standstill.