By Adriano Marchese
Toronto stocks were mildly higher in midday trading Friday, with a mixed sector performance. Communications stocks led the gainers, followed by materials stocks and transportation, as telecom company Telus and Air Canada reported better-than-expected results in their first quarter. This was offset by losses in process industries, tech services and industrial services stocks.
On the broader economic front, unemployment in Canada rose for a second month in April, up 0.2% to 6.9%, the highest level since November, in part as the country continued to lose more manufacturing jobs.
At midday, Canada’s S&P/TSX Composite Index edged 0.2% higher to 25312.38 and the blue-chip S&P/TSX 60 rose 0.2% to 1519.34.
Air Canada shares rose by 14% to 17.44 Canadian dollars ($12.52) after the flagship airline reported better-than-feared results in the first quarter. The company also trimmed parts of its outlook for…
