Stocks are more or less unchanged at midday following some mixed economic data released Friday morning. The S&P/TSX composite index is flat at 7,071.

The hotly anticipated jobs report confounded market watchers by blowing away expectations to the upside, killing talk of a rate cut next week. However, the details of the report were more ambiguous, Canadian trade data was soft, and U.S. producer prices came in a little on the negative side.

As it’s a summer Friday, it seems that some traders may be ducking out early in the absence of convincing data or corporate news.

Volume is on the light side at 92.5 million shares, with buying action ahead of the selling by a four to three margin. Market breadth however is modestly negative, as losers outnumber winners 46:43.

There’s not much movement in the market on a sector basis either. Consumer staples are the strongest group, up a mere 0.4%. Health care stocks are down 0.75%, followed by materials, which are down 0.3%.

Biotechs are the only group making any notable moves, with Biovail leading the way down. It is off by almost 5% after it was downgraded by a Research Capital analyst.

There is also some weakness in golds, with Bema Gold, Wheaton River and Iamgold, all sliding. Other losers include Golden Star Resources, Methanex, Tembec, CAE and Provident Energy.

Nortel is leading the trade today, up just 1% on decent volume of 11.4 million shares. Descartes Systems is strong today too.

EnCana is a bright spot among energy stocks, gaining 0.4%. Southwestern Resources, Bonavista Energy Trust and Esprit Exploration are stronger, too.

There are also gains in Cinram, Cott, Rogers and Laidlaw.

Financials are busy, fighting their way to a draw. Great-West Life is rallying off recent weakness, gaining 1.2%. The ever-volatile Fairfax Financial is up 4%. Bank of Montreal is the weakest name, down 0.7%. But there is also selling in CIBC, Sun Life and Royal Bank. Scotiabank is up a little.

In New York, stocks are rallying in rather light volume, despite some mildly negative economic data.

The Dow Jones industrial average is up 94 points to 9,130. The S&P 500 has added 11 points to 999. The Nasdaq composite index is up 20 points to 1,736.

The S&P/TSX Venture index is following the TSX’s diffident lead. The index is more or less unchanged, down half a point to 1,117.6. Volume is on the light side at 16.3 million shares. Bioenvelop Technologies is the top trader, up 11¢ to 37¢ on 1.3 million shares.