Nov. 5, 2009 (Baystreet.ca) --

Canadian stocks are higher for a third straight session, led by strength in the health-care sector. The market moved further off a two-month low with the gain. In the first half-hour of trading, the S&P/TSX composite index was ahead 36.05 points to 11,107.25. Healthcare stocks have added 2.4%. Biovail has added 0.7% to lead the way. Cardiome Pharma is up 0.5%. Meanwhile, Canadian Natural Resources has dropped 2.1% after the company reported third-quarter net earnings were $658 million or $1.21 per share, much lower than prior year's $2.84 billion or $5.25 per share. The Canadian dollar gained 0.22 cents to 94.02 cents U.S. ON BAYSTREET Of the 14 TSX subgroups, 10 were higher at the outset, led by health-care stocks, up 2.1%, while global base metals were next at 1.6%, followed by metals and mining, advancing 1%. Energy, gold and financials were off 0.1% each. The TSX Venture Exchange moved up 0.18 points to 1,331.53, while the Nasdaq Canada index gained back 14.45 points to 644.28. ON WALLSTREET In New York, stocks rallied Thursday after the government reported a bigger-than-expected drop in jobless claims and a number of retailers reported improved October sales. The Dow Jones Industrials darted out of the blocks 133.96 points, or 1.4% to 9,935.90. The S&P 500 index gained 12.65 points to 1,059.15, while the Nasdaq composite index jumped 35.82 points to 2,091.34. U.S. stocks have been volatile recently amid concerns about the economy and banking sector. On Wednesday, Wall Street ended mixed after the Federal Reserve left its key interest rate near 0% and said it expected rates to remain at that level for some time. Costco reported a slightly better-than-expected sales increase at its stores open more than a year during the month of October. Shares fell 1%. Clothing retailer Gap also bested analysts' expectations, saying that its sales climbed 4% in the same period. Shares rose 1%. On the economic front, the number of workers filing for unemployment benefits declined more than expected last week. Initial claims fell 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 512,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That could soothe investors who are anxiously awaiting Friday's all-important monthly employment report for October. Economists are currently expecting the economy to have lost another 175,000 jobs during the month, which could push the nation's unemployment rate to 10%, according to a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com. In related news, the Senate voted Wednesday to extend unemployment benefits by up to 20 weeks and to extend the $8,000 U.S. first-time homebuyer tax credit. Cisco delivered better-than-expected profits late Wednesday and said its business was recovering. Automaker Toyota reported a surprise quarterly profit Thursday, while it issued a more upbeat forecast for its full-year results. In other earnings news, Time Warner Cable reported an 11% decline in its third-quarter profits, which were slightly better than analysts' estimates. And pharmacy retailer CVS Caremark reported a bigger-than-expected jump in quarterly profit. Treasury prices lost more ground, raising the yields for the benchmark 10-year note to 3.55% from Wednesday's 3.53%. Prices and yields move in opposite directions. The price of a barrel of oil lost 51 cents to $79.84 U.S. Gold prices gained two dollars to $1,089 U.S. an ounce.