Energy and mining issues boosted Toronto stocks Friday, on top of positive housing and jobs reports.

Statistics Canada reported today that the Canadian economy created 46,000 new jobs in January, pushing unemployment rates down to 5.8% and beating expectations.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) released data today showing that housing starts in Canada were way up, sitting at 222,700 units in January, up from 184,700 units in December.

The S&P/TSX Composite index closed up 63.97 points, or 0.50%, at 12,989.34.

Eight of the ten main TSX groups gained.

The materials group rose 1.62%.

Kinross Gold Corp was a big mover in this group, gaining $1.06, or 5.02%, to close at $22.16.

Gold futures made strong gains today. Gold for April delivery rose US$12.30 to close at US$922.30 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The telecom group gained 0.62%, pushed up by BCE shares, which closed up 93¢, or 2.68%, at $35.65.

The energy group moved up 1.13%.

Crude for March delivery gained US$3.66, or 4.2%, to close at US$91.77 a barrel on the Nymex, the highest close in more than a week.

Petro-Canada shares shed 49¢, or 1.12%, to close at $44.26, after it said it is reconsidering a $1-billion regasification project in Quebec because Russian giant OAO Gazprom cancelled plans for a liquefied natural gas facility in the Baltic Sea.

Meanwhile the heavyweight financials group fell 0.71%.

Royal Bank of Canada stock fell 73¢, or 1.42%, to close at $50.56. Bank of Montreal shares dropped 45¢, or 0.80%, closing at $56.

In individual stocks, Air Canada’s parent company ACE Aviation Holdings Inc., rose $1.07, or 11.08%, to end the day at $10.73, after its CEO announced he’d been approached by private equity and pension funds.

Shares in Cott Corp. went up 16¢, or 2.81%, closing at $5.86, after it reported a $76.8 million loss, or $1.07 per share in Q4, nearly triple its loss of $29.6-million in the same period a year ago.

Brookfield Asset Management shares rose 47¢, or 1.52%, ending the session at $31.48, after it raised its dividend and reported fourth-quarter net income of US$346 million, down from US$611-million a year earlier.

The Canadian dollar closed out at par with the U.S. dollar, pushed up by strong economic data releases.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index ended the session up 33.78 points, or 1.36%, at 2,526.82.

This week was a bumpy ride for U.S. markets, starting with Tuesday’s ISM report showing weakness in the U.S. services sector.

In New York, stocks were mixed as the Dow sunk deeper as the afternoon wore on, but the Nasdaq managed to stay above water.

The Dow closed down 64.87 points, or 0.53%, at 12,182.13.

The S&P 500 closed down just 5.62 points, or 0.42%, at 1,331.29.

But the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the session up 11.82 points, or 0.52%, at 2,304.85.