Toronto's main stock index rose to its highest level in more than five months on Friday, and scored its seventh straight week of gains, as rising oil and gold prices powered commodity-related issues higher. The index's mining-heavy materials group rose 4.28 percent, with gold-mining issues supported by bullion prices that reached a three-week high, while fertiliser producer Potash Corp of Saskatchewan rebounded from the previous session's drop.
Barrick Gold added 4.08 percent to C$37.46, building on the previous session's gains, while Goldcorp rose 3.96 percent to C$36. Potash Corp was up 4.2 percent at C$101.59, a day after it lowered its full-year outlook. The energy group climbed 1.04 percent as the price of oil topped $51 a barrel. The S&P-TSX composite index finished up 139.98 points, or 1.49 percent, at 9,549.48. Seven of the index's 10 sectors were higher, with the financial group joining the other two big TSX sectors, materials and energy, on the plus side.
The financials finished the session up 1.42 percent. Manulife Financial was the most influential stock moving the index higher, rising 5.4 percent to C$20.69. "This is typical of what happens when concerns about economic growth begin to take a backseat. You see all the major groups moving up in sync," said Elvis Picardo, analyst and strategist at Global Securities in Vancouver.
"Those three groups were very badly smacked at the height of this bear market. So they're rebounding. It's a good thing. And I would say it should be expected after the magnitude of the decline we had at the bottom of this market." The TSX rose to its highest level since November in the morning.
It pared gains briefly in the afternoon along with US stock indexes after the release of a much anticipated concept paper on US government stress tests for the 19 biggest US financial institutions, but then rose again. The paper was a precursor to the May 4 release of the results of the stress tests, which are designed to ensure banks have enough reserve capital.