Source: The Canadian Press

Stock markets looked set for a slightly higher open as the latest American employment data showed much higher than expected job growth.

The U.S. Labour Department reported that the economy cranked out 151,000 jobs, against an expected gain of 70,000.

Private employers hired 159,000 workers, while governments at all levels shed only 8,000 jobs, a much better showing than September’s sharp drop.

The U.S. unemployment rate backed away 0.1% to 9.6%.

Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar was lower in the wake of disappointing domestic jobs data and a stronger U.S. dollar.

The loonie was down 0.2 of a cent to 99.56 cents US as Statistics Canada reported that the economy created just 3,000 new jobs in October, well below economists’ consensus expectations of a 15,000 gain.

The jobless rate edged lower one-tenth of a point to 7.9% mostly because fewer people were actively looking for work during the month.

New York futures were following the U.S. jobs report with the Dow futures up 14 points to 11,401, the Nasdaq futures climbed 1.75 points to 2,186.25 while the S&P futures gained 3.1 points to 1,221.7.

Stock markets rallied sharply Thursday with Toronto and New York indexes racking up strong triple digit advances a day after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced that it will buy US$600 billion in government bonds over the coming eight months in a fresh attempt to energize the U.S. economy.

The measure is known as quantitative easing, which is aimed at creating more dollars and increasing the supply of money in the economy. The latest round of stimulus, known as QE2, involves the Fed buying US$75 billion in Treasury bonds per month until June next year.

The Fed hopes that the policy will help drive down interest rates and encourage lending.

Commodity prices were mainly higher following the release of the U.S. employment data, with the December crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange up 26 cents to US$86.75 a barrel.

The December bullion contract on the Nymex lost $6.90 to US$1,376.20 an ounce while the December copper contract rose five cents to US$3.97 a pound.

Earlier, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index soared 2.9% following the latest move by the Fed to spur the American economy and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 1.2%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 1.4% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.4%.

London’s FTSE 100 index slipped 0.17%, Frankfurt’s DAX was also little changed, down 0.06% while the Paris CAC 40 was ahead 0.31%.

On the earnings front, toymaker Mega Brands Inc. (TSX:MB) reported profits fell to about $16.3 million or five cents a share for the three months ended Sept. 30. That was down from $72 million or $1.97 a share for the same period last year. Net sales rose 9% to $128.3 million.

Centerra Gold Inc. (TSX:CG) , a Toronto miner with operations in central Asia, reports net profits fell to US$17.7 million or seven cents a share on revenues of $115.5 million in the third quarter.

Utility company Fortis Inc. (TSX:FTS) reported $45 million of net income, or 26 cents per common share, in the third quarter with $720 million of revenue.

In other corporate news, auto parts giant Magna International Inc. (TSX: MG) has raised its dividend by 20% to 18 cents as third-quarter profits increased four-fold on a sharp increase in sales as global auto production ramps up.

Third-quarter profits jumped to US$241 million, or $2.06 per share in the period ended Sept. 30. That compared with earnings of $51 million, or 45 cents a year ago.

Revenues rose 27% to $5.9 billion from $4.7 billion in the year-earlier period.