Government figures showed a jump in U.S. employment growth in June and a drop in the unemployment rate, suggesting the world’s biggest economy was on its way to overcoming a winter slowdown.

“The U.S. employment situation is very strong. It’s very encouraging," said Marcus Xu, portfolio manager at MY Capital Management Corp in Vancouver. “It's a lively economic environment in the United States at the moment."

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index <.GSPTSE> closed down 2.68 points, or 0.02 percent, at 15,207.11. It rose as high as 15,256.36, a record, earlier in the session.

The TSX is likely to have a strong second half, Xu said. “Commodities are making a bit of a comeback.”

Six of the 10 main sectors on the index were in the red on Thursday.

Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, climbed 0.3 percent. Royal Bank of Canada (>> Royal Bank of Canada) added 0.1 percent to C$77.11, and Bank of Nova Scotia (>> The Bank of Nova Scotia) gained 0.5 percent to C$71.66.

The energy sector was down 0.2 percent on lower oil prices, with Suncor Energy Inc (>> Suncor Energy Inc.) falling 0.9 percent to C$45.53 and Encana Corp (>> Encana Corporation) shedding 1.1 percent to C$24.58.

Gold-mining shares gave back 1.4 percent, reflecting weakness in the price of bullion. Goldcorp Inc (>> Goldcorp Inc.) slipped 1.9 percent to C$29.19, and Barrick Gold Corp (>> Barrick Gold Corp.) lost 1.2 percent to C$19.33.

(Editing by Dan Grebler; and Peter Galloway)

By John Tilak