Canadian stocks rise following Trump victory

Canada's main stock market in Toronto climbed up on Wednesday, as Donald Trump becoming president-elect of United States boosted gold and oil prices.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index rose 103.07 points, or 0.70 percent, to finish the session at 14,759.91 points. Six of the ten sub-sectors ended the day ahead.

Trump's upset victory of favourite Hillary Clinton could hurt the Canadian economy, opinions Douglas Porter, Chief Economist at Bank of Montreal.

"If Trump takes unilateral steps to withdraw from North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Canadian exporters and importers would be hurt by disruptions to tightly-integrated supply chains across borders. The relative increase in U.S. company competitiveness from tax cuts could also undermine Canadian exporters, especially if Canadian firms need to pay more for a greener environment," said Porter in a report.

However, Porter does believes that the energy sector could benefit if the right policies are implemented by Trump, who will be inaugurated as the 45th president of United States on Jan. 20, 2017.

"If the U.S. economy grows faster because of expansionary fiscal policy, Canada' s main economic engine, exports, would receive a welcome boost. The increased likelihood that the Keystone XL pipeline will be approved will also support Canadian oil producers," Porter said.

During the trading day, TSX Energy and Materials groups posted healthy gains on the day, rising 1.99 percent and 1.74 percent, respectively.

Energy's ascend was fuelled by Brent crude oil rising 1.94 percent to 46.70 U.S. dollars for a barrel in London in January. Shares of Calgary-based energy firms Encana Corporation and Baytex Energy Group rose 3.50 percent to 14.21 Canadian dollars (10.61 U.S. dollars) and 3.10 percent to 5.32 Canadian dollars (3.97 U.S. dollars), respectively.

Meanwhile, the Materials group, which feature miners of gold and other metals, gained following a 0.25 percent increase in spot price of gold to 1277.70 U.S. dollars an ounce. Gold miners B2Gold Corp. shares jumped 3.68 percent and Yamana Gold Inc. rose 2.77 percent.

Health Care and Industrials sub-sectors also ended the day in the green, gaining 1.10 percent and 1.01 percent, respectively.

Utilities stocks were on the losing side, falling 1.43 percent. Shares of St. John's-based Fortis Inc. and Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. slid 1.25 percent and 3.04 percent, respectively.

TSX Consumer Discretionary and Telecommunications groups also ended the day in the negative, retreating 0.98 percent and 0.64 percent.

The Canadian dollar fell 0.0054 U.S. dollars to close at 0.7466, compared to Tuesday's end of day rate of 0.7520. Endite