Equity markets in Toronto powered higher for the fifth straight session on Thursday, with oil and gas stocks leading the charge, fueled by a surge in crude prices.
The S&P/TSX composite index zoomed 110.31 points to close Thursday at 13,978.66
The Canadian dollar advanced 0.25 cents at 76.85 cents U.S.
Encana Corp. gained 6.5% to $11.76. The producer of natural gas and crude said it will sell assets in Colorado for $900 million in order to lower its debt. Encana hopes to bolster its balance sheet after a 45% dip in oil prices in the past year.
Suncor Energy also pulled weight on the positive side, rising 4.8% to $37.16.
Teck Resources Ltd. was among the biggest risers, increasing 7.2%, or 64 cents, to $9.53.
The heavily weighted financial stocks were up moderately, led by Brookfield Asset Management’s 0.75% gain to $43.05.
Canadian National Railway, which had its price target raised by at least one analyst, was another major positive gainer, advancing 1.7% to $80.03.
First Quantum Minerals Ltd. slid 3.3% to $8.56 after a three-day surge added 69% to the stock. Copper fell 0.6% from a two-week high.
Health-care shares resumed their slide, with Concordia Healthcare Corp. losing 11.1% to $45.43. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. rose 0.4% to $222.89. Both companies face political scrutiny on drug pricing.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada’s new housing price index rose 0.3% in August, largely a result of higher new home prices in Ontario.
Also, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation noted that housing starts in Canada totaled 202,506 units in September compared to 195,804 in August.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 4.38 points to 547.06.
Eight of the 13 TSX subgroups were up on the day, as energy triumphed 3.2%, industrials surged 1.5%, and telecoms were better by 1.3%.
The five laggards were weighed most by health-care, down 2.1%, while information technology gave up 0.4%, and materials slipped 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed higher Thursday, with the Dow and S&P above key psychological levels, as investors digested the Fed's September meeting minutes.
The Dow Jones industrial average sailed higher 138.46 points to 17,050.75. The last time the index closed above 17,000 was on Aug. 19. IBM and Nike contributed the most to gains and Apple was the greatest negative weight.
The S&P 500 perked 16.4 points to 2,012.23, topping the psychologically key level of 2,000. The last time the S&P 500 topped 2,000 in intraday trade was on Sept. 17, when the Federal Reserve released its statement.
The NASDAQ index regained 15.34 points to 4,806.49, with Apple declining about 1%.
Netflix recovered from a decline to surge more than 5% on news that the streaming giant will hike prices on the standard plan by $1 a month to $9.99 U.S.
On the earnings front, Domino's Pizza reported results that missed on both the top and bottom line. Alcoa, Helen of Troy and Ruby Tuesday are all due after the bell.
Since the Fed meeting was held on Sept. 16 and 17, the minutes didn't reflect the central bank's view on last Friday's weaker-than-expected non-farm payrolls report.
Many market analysts expected the U.S. central bank to raise short-term interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade at its September meeting. The Fed's decision to hold off on a hike caused great uncertainty in markets about policymakers' views on domestic and global economic conditions.
In one of the few economic reports, weekly jobless claims declined to 263,000, a near 42-year low.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries were down, raising yields to 2.11% from Wednesday’s 2.06%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $1.83 a barrel to $49.64 U.S.
Gold prices faded $3.30 to $1,140.04 U.S. an ounce.
