Canadian stock market closes higher on positive Chinese, U.S. economic data

TORONTO, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Canadian stock market closed higher on Thursday, led by positive Chinese and U.S. economic data.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 29.57 points, or 0.23 percent, to 12,823.62, while the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index lost 12.07 points, or 0.97 percent, to 1,229.46.

The U.S. Labor Department said on Thursday that the number of Americans applying for first-time unemployment benefits fell to its lowest since January 2008, which shows an improvement in the U.S. labor market.

The U.S. Conference Board also released a positive index of leading economic indicators, which further boosted Canadian market.

The Leading Economic Index (LEI) for the United States rose 0.5 percent in December to 93.9, following no change in November and a 0.3 percent increase in October.

Canadian stocks were also supported by data that showed Chinese manufacturing growth hit a two-year high this month.

The previewed China's purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector rose to 51.9 for January, higher than the final 51.5 percent for December 2012, the HSBC Holdings said on Thursday. The figure indicates China's economy is on the recovery.

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