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Roundup: Canadian stock market extends gains over banks' upbeat financial reports

Xinhua, February 27, 2015 Adjust font size:

Canada's main stock market closed higher Thursday as the financial shares rose amid strong data from big banks, offsetting the weakness in the energy sector.

Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index was up 12.59 points or 0.08 percent to 15,241.16 points, hitting the highest point in midday trading.

Financials, the most weighed sector, extended gains by 0.61 percent when big banks reported strong financial reports for the first quarter of 2015.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce announced Thursday that it logged an adjusted net income of 956 million Canadian dollars, higher than analysts had expected. Shares of the fifth biggest Canadian bank surged 3.26 percent to 95.23 Canadian dollars (about 76.02 U.S. dollars).

The second biggest giant Toronto-Dominion Bank rose one percent to 54.47 Canadian dollars after it declared an increase in the quarterly dividend of 9 percent per share compared with last quarter, after it reported a net income of 2.06 billion Canadian dollars, inching higher from the first quarter a year ago.

Meanwhile, info-tech shares led the gainers by 2.17 percent, when heavyweights CGI Group Inc. jumped 1.21 percent to 54.22 Canadian dollars and Open Text Corp. increased 1.63 percent to 74. 16 Canadian dollars.

The metals and mining sector rallied 1.12 percent when First Quantum Minerals Ltd. climbed 4.43 percent to 15.79 Canadian dollars.

However, energy stocks dropped 1.75 percent as April crude declined 2.82 U.S. dollars to 48.17 dollars per barrel on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Canadian Oil Sands Limited slumped 6.42 percent to 10.93 Canadian dollars per share.

Industrials and utilities dipped 0.01 percent and 0.07 percent, respectively.

On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported on Thursday that consumer prices rose 1.0 percent in the 12 months to January, following a 1.5 percent increase in December.

On the currency front, the Canadian dollar Thursday went down to 0.7983 U.S. dollar from 0.8050 U.S. dollar on Wednesday. Endite