Toronto stocks posted solid gains Thursday following a steep, 400-point drop in the previous session.

The S&P/TSX composite index rose 109.46 points, or 0.78%, to close at 14,143.57.

Seven of the 10 TSX main groups posted gains.

The influential financials group climbed 2.51%.

CIBC shares rose $2.10, or 3.8%, to $57.42, while BMO climbed $1.57, or 3.8%, to $42.99.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index fell 36.88 points, or 1.42%, to end at 2,559.71.

The Canadian dollar slipped 0.43¢ to close at US98.15¢.

U.S. blue-chip stocks rose Thursday after a government report showed payrolls data was not as weak as some analysts had feared.

The U.S. Labour Department said employers cut 62,000 workers from their payrolls in June for the sixth straight monthly decline, roughly in line with economists’ expectations.

Trading finished early in advance of tomorrows Independence Day holiday, when U.S. markets will be closed.

The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average rose 73.03 points, or 0.65%, to 11,288.54, while the S&P 500 added just 1.38 points, or 0.11%, to 1,262.90. The Nasdaq composite index fell 6.08 points, or 0.27%, to 2,245.38.

For the shortened week, the Dow ended down 0.5%, the S&P 500 finished 1.2% lower and the Nasdaq shed 3%.