Resource stocks fueled a rally on Canada's main stock index on Friday, as the market shrugged off weak US jobs data and losses among banks, one of which raised cash and warned of a writedown. The gains among miners, oil and gas producers and pipeline operators outpaced rises among some key commodities as the latest US non-farm payrolls data fed investor doubts about whether the US Federal Reserve will raise rates this year.
"I would not be surprised to see the Toronto market have some kind of bottom ... it certainly feels like it, and see a major move higher," said Barry Schwartz, portfolio manager at Baskin Financial Services. "But we need the banks to cooperate and the banks aren't cooperating today. That was a big shock to me, what National did, raising capital here."
National Bank of Canada, the smallest of Canada's six main banks, fell 5.3 percent to C$40.89 after the lender warned of an asset writedown and restructuring costs and sought to raise C$300 million. The financials group, by far the biggest sector weight on the index, pulled back 1.6 percent. Royal Bank of Canada fell 2.2 percent to C$71.97, and Bank of Nova Scotia lost 2 percent to C$57.22.
But the banks' retreat was eclipsed by a 2.2 percent gain for energy stocks, and 5.6 percent appreciation in the materials sector, which includes miners and chemical producers. Agnico Eagle Mines surged 11.8 percent to C$36.60 and Goldcorp Inc jumped 6.3 percent to C$17.11, while crude rose between 1 and 2 percent and gold gained more than 2.1 percent.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended up 97.85 points, or 0.74 percent, at 13,339.74. Eight of its 10 main groups rose, with advancers outnumbering decliners 186 to 51. Schwartz said the longer rates stay low the better for equities more generally. "We are in a low-growth, flat lined world and we've been that way for five years and the stock market climbed a giant amount," he said. "Low interest rates are the best thing that can happen to competing assets to cash and fixed income."
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