(Updates with morning prices)

By Pranav Kashyap

March 7 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index recouped

early losses to rise on Friday, as investors parsed domestic and

U.S. employment data, but remained on track for its biggest

weekly fall since September 2023.

At 10:45 a.m. ET (1545 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's

S&P/TSX composite index rose 0.2% to 24,635.20.

For the week, the index was still set to fall 3%. The

benchmark lost 1.2% on Thursday.

Throughout the week, investors faced a tumultuous ride with

trade uncertainties. On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump's

25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico took effect. But on

Thursday, Trump announced a temporary exemption for goods from

both countries under a North American trade pact, lasting a

month.

On the economic front, Canada's unemployment rate remained

steady at 6.6% in February, with only slight increase in new job

additions.

"There are early signs that the intensification of

uncertainty from U.S. tariff threats, and pull back in measures

of business confidence, had an impact on hiring on the more

trade-sensitive goods producing side of the economy," said

Nathan Janzen, assistant chief economist at Royal Bank of

Canada.

In the U.S., job growth improved in February, though the

unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1%. Nonfarm payrolls rose by

151,000 jobs, slightly below the 160,000 forecast by economists

polled by Reuters.

Among TSX sectors, energy and materials

led the gains with 2.6% and 1.5%, respectively.

Oil prices rose 1.34% on Friday, but were still on course

for a nearly 4% weekly decline.

Copper prices surged to their highest level in nearly five

months, buoyed by optimism over potential stimulus from China,

the world's leading consumer.

Among individual stocks, MDA Space ( MDALF ) jumped 12.8%

after the space technology company forecast first-quarter

revenue above estimates.

Conversely, Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp ( AQNB ) lost

6.6% after the utility firm's fourth-quarter profit missed

estimates.