Canadian stocks surge as UK votes in Brexit referendum

Canada's main stock market in Toronto rallied all day up Thursday led by energy and commodity stocks as investors reckon Britons will vote to remain in the European Union.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index gained 127.57 point, or 0.91 percent, to close at 14,131.38 points. Seven of the TSX index's eight main sub-sectors were higher.

Metals stocks such as Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan flourished, climbing 5.14 percent to 22.28 Canadian dollars (17.45 U.S. dollars), while First Quantum Minerals marched forward 5.25 percent to 9.83 Canadian dollars.

Energy issues were also strong, most notably Suncor, up 4.05 percent to 36.20 Canadian dollars, while Baytex Energy advanced 2.96 percent to 7.65 Canadian dollars.

Consumer staples did well as well, as Canadian retailer Metro Inc. added 0.02 percent to 43.75 Canadian dollars, while Loblaw gained 0.48 percent to 68.99 Canadian dollars.

Gold stocks took some of the sheen off the markets as Kinross Gold fell 1.42 percent to 6.25 Canadian dollars, while Yamana Gold also lost 2.52 percent to 6.18 Canadian dollars.

On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported that 538,400 people received regular employment insurance benefits in April, down slightly from the previous month.

Meanwhile, Canada's oil industry is cutting its growth forecast for the third straight year amid a downturn in the industry and uncertainty about future pipeline growth.

Oil production is expected to grow, but not by as much as previously estimated, says the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) in its 2016 forecast released on Thursday.

CAPP says it anticipates Canada will increase production by 28 percent over the next 15 years, growing from 3.8 million barrels per day last year to 4.9 million barrels per day by 2030.

The Canadian dollar traded higher at 0.7830 U.S. dollar, compared with Wednesday's closing rate of 0.7789 U.S. dollar. Endit