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Roundup: Canadian stock market rebounds on escalating geopolitical turmoil in Yemen

Xinhua, April 24, 2015 Adjust font size:

Canada's main stock market in Toronto on Thursday moved up when resources shares were regaining momentum from a big jump in oil prices, boosted by worsening Yemen geopolitical turmoil.

Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended 87.58 points higher, or 0.57 percent, to 15,392.35 points, rebounding from a slump in the last two trading sessions, with seven of the major sectors in the rising streak.

The market was pushed up with a three-digit gain in the midday trading Thursday when the geopolitical conflict in Yemen boosted the oil prices to the highest level since the beginning of 2015, after the world's leading oil producer Saudi Arabia and its allies resumed air strikes on Huthi rebels in Yemen Thursday.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery gained 1.58 U.S. dollars to settle at 57.74 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for June delivery moved up 2.12 dollars to close at 64.85 dollars a barrel.

In response, Energy and Miners, the two resources sectors in TSX, rallied 0.9 percent and 2.84 percent, respectively.

Canadian Oil Sands Limited jumped 2.7 percent to 12.93 Canadian dollars (about 10.65 U.S. dollars), while the leading basic metals miner Teck Resources Ltd. spiked 4.26 percent to 16.41 Canadian dollars per share.

And analysts believed that as a country heavily dependent on the energy industry, Canada is becoming more and more sensitive to the turbulence of the crude oil prices.

According to the data released by Statistics Canada Thursday, in Canada's biggest oil province of Alberta, the number of people applying for employment insurance benefits rose almost 30 percent in February.

Meanwhile, Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, added 0.54 percent when Canada's biggest lender Royal Bank of Canada climbed 0.58 percent to 80.45 Canadian dollars a share.

Health Care, the only loser in the eight most weighted sectors in TSX, however, extended losses by 0.73 percent, with Catamaran Corp's shares falling 0.62 percent after the leading healthcare company said its fiscal 2015 first quarter financial results will be released on April 30.

On the currency front, the Canadian dollar was gaining strength from the rising oil price Thursday. It climbed to 0.8233 U.S. dollar from 0.8178 U.S. dollar Wednesday. Endite