Canadian stocks higher on bouncing materials stocks

Canada's main stock market in Toronto closed higher Thursday as some heavyweight companies posted strong profit and materials stocks bounced while energy and financial stocks slipped.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index added 32.26 point, or 0.22 percent, to close at 14,565.83 points. Three of the TSX index's eight main sub-sectors were higher.

Oil prices pulled back Thursday as concerns about a global supply glut continued to weigh on the market.

U.S. WTI light sweet crude for August delivery fell 1 U.S. dollar to settle at 44.94 dollars a barrel, while Brent crude for September delivery lost 0.97 dollar to close at 46.20 dollars a barrel.

TSX energy sector went down 0.24 percent, but Encana Corporation jumped 3.64 percent to 10.81 Canadian dollars (8.26 U.S. dollars) after the oil and gas producer reported a surprise quarterly profit.

Telecom stocks gained 1.11 percent as Rogers Communications Inc. surged 2.88 percent to 56.07 Canadian dollars after posting better-than-expected quarterly profit on strong wireless and internet subscriber growth.

Metals & Mining group added 1.38 percent, as First Quantum Minerals advanced 0.40 percent to 10.04 Canadian dollars, Teck Resources gained 4.12 percent to 17.96 Canadian dollars, and Barrick Gold rose 2.77 percent to 26.72 Canadian dollars.

Canadian National Railway lost 0.87 percent to 82.41 Canadian dollars after strong gains on Wednesday following its earnings.

Mullen Group Ltd., a trucking and logistics company, advanced 11.04 percent to 15.79 Canadian dollars after surprisingly strong earnings prompted several analysts to raise their price targets on the stock.

On the economic beat, Statistics Canada revealed that those drawing regular employment insurance totaled 544,900 in May up 4,800, or 0.9 percent, from the previous month, while wholesale trade rose 1.8 percent to 55.9 billion Canadian dollars in May.

The Canadian dollar traded lower at 0.7642 U.S. dollar, compared with Wednesday's closing rate of 0.7660 U.S. dollar. Endit