Business

Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Canada's bank headquarters are shrouded in fog as a sign displays TSX numbers on December 30, 2011. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

The Toronto stock market moved up slightly in early trading Wednesday as data on U.S. private sector jobs mildly outdid expectations.

The S&P/TSX composite index gained 16.34 points to 12,407.57, while the TSX Venture Exchange was off 0.06 of a point to 1,331.72.

Payroll processor ADP reported that companies added 162,000 jobs last month, slightly better than consensus expectations, but down from August. The data indicated that growth isn't picking up momentum.

The Canadian dollar fell 0.33 of a cent to 101.27 cents US.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrials were up 6.76 points to 13,489.12.

The Nasdaq composite index advanced 11.18 points to 3,131.22, while the S&P 500 index gained 2.57 points to 1,448.32.

Meanwhile a report from Royal LePage showed that the average price of a resale home in Canada rose between 1.8 and 4.8 per cent in the third quarter of 2012 compared to the same period last year. The cost of an average two-storey home in Canada increased four per cent to $403,747, while detached bungalows rose 4.8 per cent to $366,773.