Big leap for markets

Canada's main stock index opened higher on Friday after data showed U.S. employers in July hired the most workers in five months

The S&P/TSX Composite index hiked 163.64 points, or 1.4%, to open Friday 11,670.14

The Canadian dollar jumped 0.74 cents to 100.001 cents U.S., past parity with its American neighbour for the first time in weeks.

Markets in Toronto will be closed Monday for a provincial holiday.

North America's biggest farm retail supplier, Agrium Inc., reported a 20% increase in quarterly profit late on Thursday as demand for crop inputs remained strong.

Other stocks to watch this morning include Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. which reported higher earnings excluding a tax credit, and also said it is looking into how to take advantage of new ownership rules that allow greater foreign participation in smaller telecoms like itself.

Sierra Wireless Inc. posted a second-quarter profit, aided by strong sales at its mobile computing division and a recent acquisition.

Smart Technologies Inc. said its first-quarter profit plunged 93% on a weak education market in North America and Europe.

Pulp producer Mercer International Inc. reported a near-90% fall in its second-quarter profit on lower pulp prices and lower demand from China.

Steel maker Russel Metals Inc. said its second-quarter profit fell 26% on higher costs.

Silvercorp Metals posted a lower first-quarter profit as production fell and the company was not able to realize higher silver prices.

A U.S. hedge fund stepped up its battle with Telus Corp on Thursday, calling for a meeting of holders of the company's voting shares to prevent it from revisiting a failed plan to consolidate its two classes of stock on a one-for-one basis.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange gained 9.05 points to 1,182.68. The Nasdaq Canada index grew 7.95 points to 340.48.

All 14 Toronto subgroups began the day on a positive footing, led by energy stocks, 2.3% more energetic, metals and mining, higher by 2%, and global base metals, up 1.9%.

ON WALLSTREET

Stocks opened higher Friday as investors welcomed a stronger-than-expected July jobs report

The Dow Jones industrial average zoomed higher at the outset by 217.51 points, or 1.7%, to 13,096.39

The S&P 500 increased 24.89 points to 1,389.89. The Nasdaq galloped 55.39 points to 2,965.16

In the corporate world, shares of Knight Capital Group continued their free-fall Friday, dropping nearly 10% in pre-market trading… after the stock ended Thursday's trading day down 63%, and sank 13% after hours.

The company said Thursday that it would report a $440-million U.S. pre-tax loss, due to a trading glitch that led to a series of bizarre moves in the market.

Shares of Procter & Gamble rose in early trading after the consumer products company topped earnings expectations. Revenues were in line with expectations.

NYSE Euronext's quarterly results beat Wall Street's earnings and revenue forecasts.

LinkedIn shares jumped after the business networking site reported sales that nearly doubled from a year ago, led by a huge increase in revenue for its job posting services.

Facebook jumped on the tech bandwagon. Shares gained in early trading, following six straight days of losses.

On the economic slate, the U.S. economy added 163,000 jobs in July, an improvement from an increase of just 64,000 in June, according to a government report. Economists were predicting 95,000 jobs were added last month.

The jobs report surprise is a sign that hiring hasn't completely stalled -- a positive step for the struggling U.S. economy.

The unemployment rate, however, rose for the first time in over a year. The jobless rate ticked up to 8.3%, compared to forecasts for the rate to hold steady at 8.2%.

Elsewhere, the Institute for Supply Management will release the July edition of its services index this morning. The index is expected to come in at 52.3, up from 52.1 in the month prior, according to a survey of analysts by Briefing.com.

The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, pushing the yields sharply upwards to 1.55% from 1.48% late Thursday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil for September delivery spiked $2.71 to $89.84 U.S. a barrel.

Gold futures for August delivery rose $2.60 to $1,593.30 U.S. an ounce.