Toronto's main stock index surged to its highest level in nearly two weeks on Wednesday as stronger commodity prices helped boost energy and gold-mining shares.
The S&P/TSX Composite index tacked on 96.02 points to finish the day at 11,637.04.
Shares of Suncor Energy, the main contributor to the index's gain, rose 2% to $37.90, while mining giant Barrick Gold was up 1.9% at $42.29. Oil company Canadian Natural Resources rose 2.4% to $71.89.
Other heavyweight gainers included EnCana Corp, up 0.9% at $32.58, and Talisman Energy, up 0.9% at $19.10. Coal producer Teck Resources was up 1.75% at $39.48.
On the economic front, Canadian manufacturing sales rose more than expected in November, led by higher sales of petroleum and aerospace products.
Statistics Canada said manufacturing sales advanced 2.0% in October to $42.5 billion, smashing the forecasts of economists, who were predicting a sales increase of 0.5% over the previous month.
The Canadian dollar was flat at 94.25 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
All but one of the 14 TSX subgroups headed higher. Information technology gained 2.5%, while metals and mining stocks tied with energy stocks, prospering 1.7% each.
The TSX Venture Exchange shot upward 17.74 points to 1,439.79, while the Nasdaq Canada index added 6.01 points to 703.68
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, however, stocks ended mixed Wednesday after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, saying market conditions were helping the recovery but weakness will persist.
The Dow Jones Industrials subsided 10.88 points to end the day at 10,441.12, while the S&P 500 inched higher by 1.25 points to 1,109.18, while the Nasdaq gained 5.86 points by day’s end to 2,206.91.
The U.S. central bank released its final policy statement of the year to capstone its two-day meeting.
The Federal Reserve said it would hold the fed funds rate, a key overnight bank lending rate, unchanged at historic lows near 0% -- the level at which the rate has stood for a year.
Stocks started the day higher but were unable to sustain those gains after the Fed statement.
The Fed said weakness will remain for a bit but a combination of government action, stimulus and market forces "will contribute to a strengthening of economic growth."
The central bank has kept rates low and injected trillions of dollars into the economy in an effort to offset the recession's impact.
The Fed's statement singled out strength in a few sectors, including housing and consumer spending, and while it noted the labor market continued to lose ground, the pace was slowing.
The Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday it is suing Intel for anticompetitive practices against its rivals. Intel shares fell 2.4%.
The European Union decided to drop antitrust charges against software maker Microsoft after it agreed to allow computer makers to install competing software.
Stocks showed little reaction to economic indicators released early Wednesday. This includes the Commerce Department's release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measure of consumer inflation.
November CPI rose 0.4% after climbing 0.2% the previous month, matching expectations. Core CPI was unchanged from the prior month, compared to the expected gain of 0.1% for November, according to a Briefing.com consensus.
The weekly crude oil inventory report from the Energy Information Administration said stockpiles decreased by 3.7 million barrels last week.
The Commerce Department released a pair of housing market indicators in the morning as well.
Housing starts increased to a 574,000-annual-unit rate in November from a revised 527,000-unit-annual-rate in October, matching expectations from Briefing.com consensus.
Building permits, a measure of builder confidence, rose to a 584,000-unit annual rate in November, which was more than the 570,000 rate forecast by Briefing.com consensus.
Treasury prices eased off, raising yields on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.60% from Tuesday’s 3.59%. Prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil gained $2.03 to $72.72 U.S.
Gold prices jacked up $13 to $1,136 an ounce U.S.
