Toronto stocks ended the week on a positive note on Friday, helped by a jump in telecoms issues after the pricing of the sale of US phone giant Verizon's stake in Telus Corp, and by a rebound in energy shares. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index closed 17.17 points, or 0.19 percent, higher at 9,055.66 after see-sawing through most of the day. For the week, the market was down a slight 0.02 percent.
"This market is trying to make up its mind where it wants to be for December," said Fred Ketchen, vice-president and director of equity trading at ScotiaMcleod Inc.
"December is usually a pretty good month," he said, citing the usually reliable Santa Claus rally.
Six of the 10 main subindexes rose, with the telecommunications group leading the gains, ending up 2.54 percent.
Telus gained C$1.98, or 6.33 percent, to finish at C$33.28 as investors applauded the setting of the price for the sale of Verizon Communications 20.5 percent stake in Canada's second-largest phone company.
BCE Inc rose 39 Canadian cents, or 1.39 percent, to C$28.49.
Bargain-hunting pushed up the energy subindex 0.82 percent, despite a further drop in the price of oil to $42.54 a barrel.
Penn West Petroleum Ltd, Canada's No 5 oil explorer and producer, gained C$2.37, or 3.19, to C$76.72. Precision Drilling Corp gained C$2.23, or 3.15 percent, to C$72.93.
Gold issues also rebounded after a decline earlier in the week, pushing the subindex up 0.53 percent, even as the price of February delivery gold on the New York Mercantile Exchange ended up $5.50 at $457.80 an ounce. Kinross Gold gained 38 Canadian cents, or 4.33 percent, to finish at C$9.15.
Investors took profits in the heavily weighted financial sector, sending the subindex down 0.09 percent.
Mixed quarterly earning reports and continued uncertainty about whether the Bank of Canada will raise its key overnight lending rate is helping to put pressure on financials, said Sal Masionis, a stockbroker at Brant Securities.
"Who knows what's going to happen with interest rates in Canada," he said.
A Reuters poll of Canada's primary bond dealers show they now unanimously expect rates to be left unchanged next Tuesday, when the Bank of Canada announces rate policy.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce fell 84 Canadian cents, or 1.18 percent, to C$70.48, dropping for a second day after reporting disappointing fourth-quarter results on Thursday.
Royal Bank of Canada shed 59 Canadian cents, or 0.93 percent, to end at C$62.70.
Canadian Western Bank, Canada's eighth-largest bank, gained C$1.85, or 4.1 percent, to C$47, a day after reporting a 33 percent rise in fourth-quarter earnings.
Market momentum was positive with 784 issues advancing and 548 declining on volume of 254 million shares worth C$4.07 billion traded.
The blue chip S&P/TSX 60 index rose 0.54 points, or 0.11 percent, to 504.01.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 7.09 points, or 0.07 percent, to 10,592.21. The Nasdaq composite index gained 4.39 points, or 0.2 percent, to finish at 2,147.96.
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