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Roundup: Canadian stock market extends gains as oil rally continues

Xinhua, February 4, 2015 Adjust font size:

Canada's main stock market in Toronto hit a two-month high on Tuesday as oil prices rally continued.

Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index advanced 162.41 points, or 1.09 percent, to 15,062.88 points, with resources shares leading the increase.

The equities market gained momentum in the midday trading and closed higher for a fourth consecutive session, when the oil prices extended the rally. Light, sweet crude for March delivery rising 3.48 U.S. dollars to settle at 53.05 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Energy advanced 4.2 percent when Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. soared 20.53 percent to 11.39 Canadian dollars (about 9.19 U.S. dollars), after surging 20.38 percent on Monday, and Encana Corp., the heavyweight in this sector, gained 7.71 percent to 17.6 per share.

Another resource group, Metals and Mining, jumping 6.69 percent, was the biggest gainer across TSX sectors, as Teck Resources Ltd. spiked up 7.43 percent to 18.37 Canadian dollars and Lundin Mining Corp. rose 9.17 percent to 5.12 Canadian dollars.

Financials added 2.57 percent, when Toronto-Dominion Bank rallied 2.84 percent to 52.79 Canadian dollars, and Royal Bank of Canada increased 2.63 percent to 74.83 Canadian dollars.

In other gainers, industrials and info-tech grew 1.21 percent and 0.34 percent, respectively.

However, the healthcare sector was down 1.05 percent, when the drug maker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. dropped 2. 88 percent to 197.81 Canadian dollars.

Utilities also slumped 1.11 percent, after Canadian Utilities Ltd. lost 2.06 percent to 41.43 Canadian dollars.

On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday that the Industrial Product Price Index decreased 1.6 percent in December, largely as a result of lower prices for energy and petroleum products. The Raw Materials Price Index declined 7.6 percent in December, mainly because of lower prices for crude energy products.

On the currency front, the Canadian dollar on Tuesday moved up to settle at 0.8067 U.S. dollar from 0.7951 U.S. dollar on Monday. Endite