- The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index closed up 41.39 points, or 0.25 percent, at 16,412.94. Five of the index's 10 main groups ended higher. It touched an all-time intraday high of 16,421.42 earlier in the session.

- The heavyweight financials group rose 0.7 percent as bond yields climbed after data showing a stronger-than-expected gain in U.S. private employment. Manulife Financial Corp advanced 2.3 percent to C$26.76.

- Higher yields reduce the value of insurance companies' liabilities and increase net interest margins of banks.

- Industrials added 0.4 percent, with Waste Connections Inc up 1 percent at C$87.75 after two analysts raised their price target on the stock.

- One of the biggest gainers on the index was Prometic Life Sciences Inc, which jumped 13.5 percent to C$1.60.

- The energy group, which had rallied as much as 11.9 percent since mid-December, fell 0.4 percent. Encana Corp was down 2.7 percent at C$16.84.

- U.S. crude prices were up slightly at $61.91 a barrel.

- Some of the largest decliners on the TSX were marijuana companies. They included Aphria Inc, which was down 13.8 percent at C$18.50, and Canopy Growth Co, which fell 10 percent to C$32.32.

- The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday rescinded an Obama administration policy that had eased enforcement of federal marijuana laws in states that legalized the drug, instead giving federal prosecutors wide latitude on pursuing criminal charges.

(Reporting by Fergal Smith and John Tilak; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Tom Brown)