Roundup: Canadian stocks inch up as crude gains

Canada's main stock market in Toronto inched up Thursday as crude prices continued to rebound over a output freeze deal by major producers.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index added 64.20 points, or 0.50 percent, to close at 12,931.36 points. Half of the TSX index's eight main sub-sectors were higher.

U.S. oil prices gained Thursday after Iran welcomed plans to freeze output and an industry report showed a surprise drop in U.S. inventory last week.

The West Texas Intermediate for March delivery moved up 11 cents to settle at 30.77 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, but Brent crude for April delivery decreased 22 cents to close at 34.28 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

TSX's energy group and mining section was down 1.35 percent and 3.89 percent, respectively. First Quantum Minerals Ltd. retreated 11.20 percent, and Teck Resouces decreased 1.43 percent.

Barrick Gold Corp. advanced 6.77 percent to 17.36 Canadian dollars per share. The world's largest gold producer on Wednesday cut its 2016 total gold production forecast and cost per ounce of the metal amid a continued slump in prices. Moreover, Canaccord Genuity raised target on Barrick to 21.00 Canadian dollars from 20.50 dollars, with a buy rating.

Bombardier Inc. added another 2.75 percent to 1.12 Canadian dollars. The Montreal-based aerospace and rail equipment company is in talks with more potential buyers including United Airlines after winning a lifeline 3.8 billion U.S. dollar order for its struggling CSeries jet from Air Canada.

On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported that Canadians receiving regular Employment Insurance benefits totaled 539,800 in December, down 0.5 percent from the previous month.

The agency said that wholesale sales rose 2.0 percent to 57.2 billion Canadian dollars in December. Gains were recorded in four of seven sub-sectors, led by motor vehicle and parts.

Meanwhile, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) now expects Canada's economy to grow by less than previously anticipated for the next two years, as the world's leading policy organization also downgraded estimates for other G7 countries.

The organization said Thursday that after eking out a 1.2 percent expansion in 2015, Canada's economy is on track to grow by 1.4 percent this year and 2.2 percent next year.

As recently as November, the group was expecting Canada's economy to grow by 2 percent this year and 2.3 percent next year.

In 2015, the world's economy grew by 5 percent, the slowest pace in five years, the OECD said. The group expects a similar performance in 2016.

The estimate for U.S. growth has been lowered by 0.5 to 2.0 percent in 2016 and by 0.2 to 2.2 percent in 2017. There were also downgrades for the other G7 countries -- Germany, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom -- as well as Brazil.

The forecasts for China holds steady at 6.5 percent growth in 2016 and 6.2 percent in 2017. India's growth estimate for 2016 was raised to 7.4 percent, up 0.1, while the 2017 estimate was lowered to 7.3 percent, down 0.1.

Back in Toronto's Bay street, the Canadian dollar continues to benefit from the stronger oil price with USD.CAD falling to its lowest level this year.

"The loonie has also picked up some great gains against the Euro and Sterling and those two currency pairs are at their most attractive levels in many weeks, if you do need these currencies in the short-term these levels have to be considered attractive as compared to this time last week," said Michael J Smith, a Toronto currency expert at AFEX, a global non-bank provider of foreign currency services.

The Canadian dollar was traded mildly lower at 0.7273 U.S. dollar, compared with Wednesday's closing rate of 0.7297 U.S. dollar. Enditem