Roundup: Canadian stock market hit 5-month high on resources rise

Canada's main stock market in Toronto Friday hit a five-month high after a modest rise for a fifth consecutive trading day, as the resources shares stayed in the rising streak.

Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index was up 36.29 points, or 0.24 percent, to 15,264.81 points, the highest since Sept. 22. The stock market will be closed on Monday due to Family Day.

Statistics Canada Friday morning announced that manufacturing sales rose 1.7 percent in December, despite a 9.3 percent drop in sales of petroleum and coal products.

However, the TSX index gained momentum on the rising oil prices, when light, sweet crude for March delivery advanced 1.57 U.S. dollars to settle at 52.78 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and Brent crude for March delivery rose 4.47 U.S. dollars to close at 61.52 dollars a barrel.

Energy sector edged up 0.90 percent as Suncor Energy Inc. rose 0.77 percent to 39.40 Canadian dollars (about 31.62 U.S. dollars), and Canadian Oil Sands Limited increased 0.17 percent to 11.95 Canadian dollars.

Another resources heavyweight Metals and Mining jumped 2.77 percent, as Teck Resources Ltd. surged 2.24 percent to 19.15 Canadian dollars and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. climbed 3.01 percent to 13.69 Canadian dollars.

Financials strengthened 0.44 percent with Bank of Nova Scotia up 1.02 percent to 67.20 Canadian dollars.

Info-tech and Telecom were also in the rising streak, moving up 0.94 percent and 0.05 percent, respectively.

However, Industrials bucked the trend by losing 0.34 percent, while Canadian National Railway Company gave back 0.86 percent to 87.29 Canadian dollars.

Utilities slumped 0.64 percent as Fortis Inc. fell 1.65 percent to 39.32 Canadian dollars.

In corporate news, Canadian pipeline company TransCanada Corp. reported a strong profit with 458 million Canadian dollars of net income attributable to common shares. But its stock price lost 2. 17 percent to 57.23 Canadian dollars per share.

On the currency front, the Canadian dollar closed higher Friday to 0.8025 U.S. dollar from Thursday's 0.8006 U.S. dollar.

But an economic research report released by Bank of Montreal on Friday said the troika of collapsing oil prices, narrowing shorter- term Canada-U.S. yield spreads and a surging greenback is driving the loonie weaker. Endite