Nov. 6, 2009 (Baystreet.ca) --

Canadian stocks remained moderately higher as a strong day in the gold sector outweighed concern over jobs data. The market enjoyed a fourth straight daily gain. The S&P/TSX composite index ended the day ahead 69.72 points to 11.250.42. Following two months of moderate growth, Statistics Canada said Friday morning that employment decreased by 43,000 in October, all in part time. This drop pushed the unemployment rate up 0.2 percentage points to 8.6%. Gold stocks surged after the precious metal reached above $1,100 U.S. for the first time. Royal Gold has added 8.3% to $54.56, Iamgold added 5.1% to $17.77 and Agnico-Eagle Mines climbed 2.7% to $61.87. Materials stocks were up, also boosted by gold's rally. Agrium added 1.3% to $53.95 after its latest takeover proposal has been rejected by CF Industries Holdings. SNC-Lavalin jumped 4.2% to $47.20 after the company said its third-quarter net income rose to $103.1 million or $0.68 per share from $91.3 million or $0.60 per share in the prior year period. Suncor reported third-quarter earnings of $929 million for the recent quarter, compared to $815 million last year. The stock gained a penny to $35.38. Epsilon Energy dropped 3.9% to $2.00 after the company reported third quarter net loss of $2.8 million U.S. or $0.06 U.S. per share, compared to a net loss of $148,000 U.S. or breakeven per share in the prior-year quarter. Air Canada shares took flight 2.6% to $1.17 after the company reported that its third-quarter net income was $277 million or $2.44 per share, compared to a loss of $132 million or $1.32 per share in the same quarter last year. Brookfield Asset Management slid 1.8% to $22.78 after the company reported its net income for the third quarter dropped to $112 million U.S. or $0.17 U.S. per share from $171 million U.S. or $0.27 U.S. per share in the same quarter last year. Lassonde Industries added 2.5% to $47.24 after the company posted third-quarter net earnings of $7.3 million or $1.10 per share, compared to $6.0 million or $0.90 per share in the year-ago quarter. Telus dropped 1.2% to $33.57 after announcing third-quarter earnings fell to $0.88 from $0.89 a year ago. The Canadian dollar was off 0.77 cents to 93.03 cents U.S. ON BAYSTREET Of the 14 TSX subgroups, 11 were in positive territory Friday. Gold was the leader, of course, shining 3.3% brighter, while consumer discretionary stocks progressed 2.3% and materials jumped 1.8%. The losers were weighed by real-estate stocks, off 0.8%, consumer staples, off 0.1% and telecoms, sliding less than 0.1%. The TSX Venture Exchange moved up 9.07 points to 1,340.62, while the Nasdaq Canada index finished 4.95 points in the black at 639.25.