The upward momentum for stocks in North America following Wednesday’s U.S. Federal Reserve announcement continued well into Thursday, with substantial gains on both sides of the border.
The S&P/TSX composite index was positive 132.87 points to conclude Thursday at 14,346.75
It was the third straight day of gains for the index, which has suffered in recent weeks as a diving oil price has hurt Canadian-listed oil companies.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.28 cents to 86.19 cents U.S.
The energy sector added to rises of about 15% over the previous two sessions as oil and gas stocks recovered from a major decline tied to a big drop in the price of crude.
Canadian Oil Sands was ahead 92 cents, or 9.5%, at $10.66.
Gains also spread to other areas, such as financials, which added to their gains following an advance of about 2.5% over Tuesday and Wednesday. Toronto Dominion added 25 cents to $53.35.
The sector had sold off on concerns about the impact of falling oil prices on the Canadian economy and the exposure of banks to high-cost producers that took on debt to finance expansion.
The gold sector climbed as Barrick Gold leaped 25 cents, or 2%, to $12.83, while Agnico-Eagle Mines acquired $1.61, or 6%, to $28.61.
March copper was off two cents at $2.85 U.S. a pound and the base metals sector was flat. Teck Resources gained 49 cents, or 3.4%, to $14.90.
The telecom sector was only decliner, as TELUS dropped 64 cents, or 1.5%, to $42.00
Major acquisition activity in the consumer staples space also helped lift the TSX.
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. has a friendly deal to buy The Pantry Inc., which will add more than 1,500 locations to the Quebec-based company's U.S. network of convenience stores and fuel stops.
The deal values The Pantry at $1.7 billion U.S, with Couche-Tard paying $36.75 U.S. cash per share. Couche-Tard stock rose $3.84, or 9%, to $46.38.
In the economic docket, Statistics Canada reported that those of us drawing regular Employment Insurance benefits in October totaled 491,400, fairly stationary from the previous month.
Compared with October 2013, the number of EI beneficiaries decreased 26,800 or 5.2%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 6.50 points to 665.50
All but one of the 14 Toronto subgroups remained higher, with gold shining 4.5% brighter, consumer staples improving 2.9%, and materials up 2.1%.
As noted, the lone exception was in telecoms, down 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks rallied on Thursday, with the Dow industrials climbing more than 400 points for the first time in three years, as investors applauded the Federal Reserve's pledge that it would be patient in increasing interest rates.
The Dow Jones Industrials triumphed 421.48 points, or 2.4%, to close at 17,778.15, with Microsoft and International Business Machines leading blue-chip gains that included all 30 components.
The S&P 500 hiked 48.34 points, or 2.4%, to 2,061.23, with technology leading gains and all 10 of its major sectors rising.
The NASDAQ index tacked on 104.09 points, or 2.2%, to 4,748.40.
Oracle rallied after the software marker reported fiscal second-quarter profit and sales that exceeded estimates; Hertz Global Holdings jumped after investor Carl Icahn reported hiking his stake in the car-rental company.
Thursday data had jobless claims falling by 6,000 to 289,000 last week, the lowest since early November. Moreover, the Conference Board's index of leading indicators advanced in November for a third consecutive month, signaling the U.S. economy is picking up steam heading into the New Year.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries sagged, raising yields to 2.20% from Wednesday’s 2.15%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices ditched $1.85 per barrel to $54.62 U.S.
Gold prices were positive $4.20 an ounce at $1,198.70 U.S.
