Canada's benchmark stock index notched its biggest advance in more than two months on Friday as commodity prices, especially oil, rebounded from losses earlier this week, while better-than-expected US jobs growth boosted sentiment on Wall Street. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended up 185.34 points, or 1.2 percent, at 15,582.04, its biggest gain since March 1. It left the index nearly unchanged for the week after it posted on Thursday its lowest close in six weeks.
"The market is feeling a little bit more buoyant than it was for most of the week," said Peggy Bowie, senior trader at Manulife Asset Management. "We are seeing a bounce back in commodities." US crude oil futures settled up 1.5 percent at $46.22 a barrel, rebounding from five-month lows, on assurances by Saudi Arabia that Russia is ready to join Opec in extending supply cuts to reduce a persistent glut.
Suncor Energy Inc climbed 1.9 percent to C$42.56, while TransCanada Corp, which reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, rose 2 percent to C$63.93. Tourmaline Oil added 6.3 percent to C$27.69 after it reported strong quarterly earnings on Thursday. The overall energy group gained 3 percent, while the materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 1.4 percent.
Copper prices advanced 0.8 percent to $5,584.85 a tonne and gold futures rose 0.1 percent to $1,228 an ounce. All of the index's 10 main groups ended higher. Recent solid corporate earnings and a cheaper Canadian dollar encouraged investors to dip their toes back in the market, Bowie said. The loonie recovered some ground after hitting a fresh 14-month low at C$1.3793.
Bank of Nova Scotia, rose nearly 2 percent to C$76.63, while the heavyweight financials group ended up 0.9 percent. Non-bank mortgage lender Home Capital Group got a boost after it announced that Alan Hibbens would replace co-founder Gerald Soloway on its board. But the shares reversed course to end 2.7 percent lower at $5.85, holding just above the 13-year low it had plunged to last week at $5.68. Great-West Lifeco Inc fell 5.5 percent to C$34.47 as CIBC cut its target price on the stock. The financial services company had reported earnings on Thursday. Air Canada, which reported a narrower-than-expected loss on Friday, saw its shares rise nearly 9 percent to C$13.94.
Comments
Comments are closed.