Energy shares led Toronto stocks to a higher close on Friday as worries about gasoline supply levels drew investors into a stock market that has now recorded its fifth straight month of gains.
The Toronto Stock Exchange S&P/TSX composite index, now sitting at its best level in just over three years, rose 50.65 points, or 0.58 percent, to 8,788.49.
The market also got a boost as fund managers scrambled to make adjustments to enhance their portfolios for month-end, commonly referred to as window-dressing.
For the week, Toronto's senior equity index rose 1.7 percent.
"If you want to have portfolios look good for the end of the month you start buying things in the last few days of the month and that's why the market has been a tad firmer," said Irwin Michael, portfolio manager at ABC Funds.
The energy sector raced ahead 1 percent, making it the best performing group during the session, while health-care stocks played a strong supporting role with a 0.86 percent gain. Eight of the 10 TSX subindexes finished higher.
The energy sector has been given a boost recently as worries about gasoline supplies lifted prices, while excitement lingered over quarterly profits posted by oil and gas companies earlier in the week.
Shares of Canadian Natural Resources jumped C$2.05, or nearly 3 percent, to C$73.25, while Nexen Inc rose C$1.15, or 2.4 percent, to C$49.95.
The heavily weighted financial index was under the microscope during the last two trading sessions as investors pored over financial reports from some of the market's most weighty members.
Royal Bank of Canada, the fifth most active stock of the day, could not maintain the financial sector's momentum as its 1 percent rise in quarterly results failed to match the pace set by the other big banks.
Shares of Royal fell C$2.14, or 3 percent, to C$63.45, while the influential financial group finished 0.06 percent lower.
Financial stocks raced to a 1.7 percent gain on Thursday thanks largely to Toronto-Dominion Bank's 74 percent jump in profit and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce's 37 percent earnings improvement.
Some investors are starting to brace for equities to trickle lower in the near-term given a torrid climb for nearly one year.
"I think we are due for a couple months of weaker markets," said Douglas Davis, president at Davis-Rea Ltd. "It won't happen overnight, but over the next two months you should see a 5 to 10 percent correction."
Market momentum was positive as 785 issues advanced and 489 declined. Volume during the session was robust as 378 million shares valued at C$4 billion changed hands. The blue-chip S&P/TSX 60 index rose 3.37 points, or 0.69 percent, to 490.59.
US stocks were mostly unchanged as skittish investors locked in profits on an early rally spurred by a fresh batch of reports indicating the US economy is on the mend.
The Dow Jones industrial average finished 3.78 points, or 0.04 percent, higher at 10,583.92, while the Nasdaq composite index fell just below the break-even level, closing down 2.75 points, or 0.14 percent, at 2,029.82.
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