Photo: The Canadian Press

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index reversed early losses to close higher Friday on signs of a quicker economic recovery that sent crude oil prices to a near two-year high.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 255.24 points to 18,380.96 after hitting an intraday low of 17,998.32.

The market faltered early, a day after Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell failed to reassure investors that interest rates would remain stable until full employment is restored.

Sentiment changed due to stellar U.S. employment numbers in February that reinforced expectations about a strong economic recovery in the back half of the year.

U.S. employers added 379,000 jobs last month, the most since October, while the unemployment rate fell to 6.2%. The numbers beat expectations and compared with 166,000 gains in January and a loss of 306,000 jobs in December.

Nonetheless, millions of Americans remain unemployed because of COVID-19.

The employment data shows the economy can recover very quickly from short-term lockdowns, said Philip Petursson, chief investment strategist at Manulife Investment Management.

“Today’s jobs number is more a reflection of what we can see through the remainder of the year, even an acceleration of the jobs gains,” he said.

Petursson added that the large number of unemployed is probably temporary with job gains accelerating as the economy opens up.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 572.16 points to 31,496.30. The S&P 500 index rose 73.47 points at 3,841.94, while the Nasdaq composite was up 196.68 points at 12,920.15.

North American stock markets were headed lower for the week but mostly recovered in response to the employment numbers.

“The jobs data saved the week,” Petursson said. “The market became attractive enough, supported by the jobs data, to bring the buyers to the forefront.”

The TSX and the Dow gained 1.8% on the week and the S&P 500 did about half as well. The tech-heavy Nasdaq ended down 2.1%.

The Canadian dollar traded for 78.94 cents US compared with 79.13 cents US on Thursday.