* At 9:57 a.m. ET (1357 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX Composite Index <.GSPTSE> rose 36.04 points, or 0.23 percent, to 15,995.54.

** The materials sector was the biggest boost as gold was set for its first weekly gain in four weeks. [GOL/]

** Pushing the financial group higher were shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank, up 0.5 percent, and Sun Life Financial, which gained 1.5 percent.

* Economic data showed the Canadian economy unexpectedly shed jobs in April, bolstering bets that the Bank of Canada will hold interest rates steady when its policymakers meet later this month.

* On the NAFTA front, U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan has set a May 17 deadline to be notified of a new trade deal to give the current Congress a chance of passing it.

* Eight of Canada's 10 main index sectors were higher.

* The TSX posted 11 new 52-week highs and two new lows. Across all Canadian issues there were 26 new 52-week highs and 15 new lows.

* The largest percentage gainer on the TSX was SSR Mining Inc, which rose 7.3 percent, after the company on Thursday reported quarterly results.

* CES Energy Solutions Corp 6.5 percent made it the biggest decliner, after the company reported first-quarter results on Thursday.

* Among the most active Canadian stocks by volume were Neovasc Inc and ECN Capital Corp.

* Shares of Thomson Reuters, down 4.6 percent to $47.67, was among the most heavily traded. The news and information company reported first-quarter sales and earnings that were slightly higher than expected.

* Volume on the TSX index was 24.16 million shares. Total volume on Friday was 48.72 million shares.

(Reporting by Amy Caren Daniel in Bengaluru)