Strong U.S. job creation figures propelled U.S. markets to gains for the ninth straight session, while Toronto markets see-sawed throughout the morning session, held back by lower energy and financial stocks.

At midday, the S&P/TSX composite index was off 10.34 points or 0.22% at 8,856.27, while the TSX Venture exchange was up 6.86 points or 0.42% to 1,628.19.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 53.25 points or 0.52% at 10,368.01. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index advanced 6.82 or 0.34% to 2030.45 and the S&P 500 was up 2.28 points or 0.20% at 1,163.95.

The Canadian dollar pushed above the US83¢ level, adding 0.41 of a cent to US83.23 as Canada posted strong job growth numbers of its own, showing the creation of 34,000 jobs — about 5,000 more than expected.

Toronto markets were held back by energy stocks, down 0.24% even though oil prices showed signs of stabilizing below the US$50 mark. Light, sweet crude for December delivery in New York was up just 8¢ to US$48.90 after dropping more than $2 on Thursday.

Elsewhere, the TSX financials sub-group was off 0.64%. It was led on the downside by Manulife Financial, which traded lower for the second straight day. It was down 5.12% despite strong earnings in the third-quarter. The insurance giant said after markets closed Thursday that profits, boosted by the company’s $15-billion takeover of American insurer John Hancock Financial last spring, were up 81%. Almost six fmillion shares had traded hands by midday.

The TSX gold index was up 1.59% as the price of bullion continued to firm.

In New York, the jobless figure — 337,000 jobs were created — was nearly double what Wall Street expected, and the euphoria over the increased hiring fueled the stock market’s recent rally. The strength of the Labor Department figures, which included upward revisions of the August and September figures as well, allowed investors to overlook an unexpected jump in the unemployment rate to 5.5%, up from 5.4% in September.

For bonds, the jobs report produced a major selloff, with the yield on 10-year notes reaching 4.22 percent, as investors grew increasingly certain that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates in both its November and December meetings. The U.S. dollar surged against foreign currencies as well.

In the first minutes of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 21.24, or 0.2%, to 10,336.00.

Wall Street’s buying spree entered its ninth day. Since Oct. 25, the Dow has been up seven of the last eight sessions, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq enjoyed eight straight gains and appeared to be poised for a ninth.

Overseas markets fed off of Wall Street’s ongoing rally, as Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 1.06% for the session. In afternoon trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.54%, Germany’s DAX index surged 1.54%, and France’s CAC-40 gained 1.19%.