Toronto stocks finished higher on Friday in a broad-based rally led by rebounding energy issues and a high-flying Hudson's Bay Co. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index climbed 66.85 points, or 0.65 percent, to close at 10,312.30.
Volume was 222 million shares worth C$3.8 billion. On the week, the index rose 0.21 percent. For the month, however, it slumped 6.35 percent.
"It's encouraging to finish the week on a strong note. Fridays tend to be volatile," said Elvis Picardo, chief market strategist at Global Securities Corp.
"It could be because the TSX - especially energy - has had a really sharp decline so far this month, so there seems to be definitely some bargain-hunting going on," Picardo said.
"I think there's also a sigh of relief that we're almost at the end of October, and of course the fact that the US index did very well today - very strong gains propelled by the GDP data." All but two of the TSX's 10 main groups advanced.
Energy shares were up 1.31 percent, helped by a bounce in crude prices. In New York, oil futures settled 13 cents higher at $61.22 a barrel.
Precision Drilling Corp was up C$2.00, or 3.92 percent, at C$53.00.
The rise came ahead of a vote next week on Precision's conversion into an income trust, and after it posted a drop in third-quarter profit on Thursday on one-time items. Suncor Energy rose C$2.04, or 3.33 percent, to C$63.34.
A billion-dollar take-over bid for Hudson's Bay helped boost the consumer discretionary group 1.33 percent, with the retailer's stock surging C$2.72, or 21.54 percent, to C$15.35 on a volume of 8.5 million shares.
US investor Jerry Zucker's Maple Leaf Heritage Investments, already Hudson's Bay's largest shareholder with an 18.8 percent stake, said on Friday morning it was offering C$14.75 a share for the remainder of the company.
"When all is said and done, it's good to see foreign interest in Canadian assets," said Picardo.
"It does give us a certainly level of support for the Canadian market, so from that point of view it's encouraging. But I think some investors were hoping the offer would be even higher."
Gold miners, a component of the materials group also saw gains, rising 1.69 percent despite easing futures. Gold was off 80 cents at $474.80 an ounce in New York.
Barrick Gold Corp shares climbed 90 Canadian cents, or 2.91 percent, to C$31.84, a day after reporting soaring third quarter profits.
The overall materials group was up 0.74 percent.
Banks also made gains, with the influential financial group advancing 0.49 percent.
Bank of Montreal was up 60 Canadian cents, or 1.06 percent, to C$57.20. Health-care and telecom issues declined 0.8 percent and 0.42 percent respectively.
The blue chip S&P/TSX 60 index rose 3.60 points, or 0.62 percent, to 581.30.
Advancers slightly outpaced decliners 717 to 679.
"From a seasonal point of view, we're definitely in for a better period than this month has been, but I would think, on the TSX, most of the action continues to be dominated by the energy and commodity groups," said Picardo.
"It's likely we'll see the TSX more volatile than the US indexes and I think it's quite likely also the TSX will underperform the US indexes as we head towards the end of the year."
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