A U.S. Labor Department report showed nonfarm payrolls fell by 23,000 in July, compared with the 80,000 job additions economists polled by Reuters were expecting.
Traders now largely expect the U.S. central bank to leave interest rates unchanged during its September meeting, with the odds of a 25-basis-point hike moderating to 44% from 67% a week ago, according to CME FedWatch.
"U.S. is what's driving the market... so a weak number, which normally you would say is not good, but bad news is good news in this case," said Allan Small, senior investment adviser of the Allan Small Financial Group with iA Private Wealth.
Miners lead gains as gold climbs; company updates mixed
Spot gold XAU= was up 2.3%, while silver XAG= climbed 3.3%.
Miners .GSPTTMT rose 4%, with B2Gold Corp BTO.TO jumping more than 12% to lead gains on the main index. IAMGOLD Corp IMG.TO and Aris Mining ARIS.TO were also among the top performers.
Real estate .GSPTTRE and consumer staple shares .GSPTTCS were up 1% and 0.8%, respectively.
Meanwhile, Canada's economy added far more jobs in July than expected and the unemployment rate dropped to a two-year low, while Ivey PMI for July hit its lowest in four months.
The Bank of Canada is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged in September, as per data compiled by LSEG.
On the earnings front, Lundin Gold LUG.TO shares were up 5.2% after the miner posted a rise in second-quarter revenue.
Insurer Sun Life Financial SLF.TO reported higher quarterly profit on strength in its Asia and domestic business. Its shares were down 2.6%.
TSX rises as weak US jobs data lifts miners and real estate
Canada's main stock index edged higher on Friday, lifted by mining and real estate shares, as gold surged after an unexpected drop in U.S. jobs last month cast doubts about an interest-rate hike by the Federal Reserve in September.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX Composite Index .GSPTSE was up 0.4% by 10:14 a.m. ET.
EWC•
