Canadian stocks ended higher for a fourth straight session on Friday, tracking rising global equity markets and driven by gains in the energy sector with oil prices rebounding. The positive Federal Reserve stand on interest rate hikes yesterday, also weighed.
With little or no major economic releases from the U.S., the main index tracked rising global equity markets boosted by the Federal Reserve's assurance that it would be patient with regard to interest rate hikes.
In some encouraging economic news, inflation rate in Canada slowed more than expected in November, which is in line with the targeted range. Meanwhile, consumer price index also rose from a year ago, a report from Statistics Canada showed.
Retail sales in Canada remained near unchanged in October, due mainly to an uptick in appliances and building materials.
The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index closed Friday at 14,462.71, up 115.96 points or 0.81 percent. The index scaled an intraday high of 14,530.47 and a low of 13,348.65.
On Thursday, the index closed at 14,346.75, up 132.87 points or 0.93 percent, after scaling an intraday high of 14,439.06 and a low of 13,193.22. The surge followed some positive sentiment as investors viewed the Federal Reserve's monetary policy statement as putting off an anticipated interest rate hike until late next year.
Crude oil rebounded to end sharply higher, although concerns over demand growth and oversupply remained.
The Energy Index jumped 3.49 percent, with U.S. crude oil futures for February delivery surging $2.77 or 5.1 percent to close at $57.13 a barrel on the Nymex Friday.
Among energy stocks, Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ.TO) added 4.66 percent, Suncor Energy Inc. (SU.TO) dipped 0.08 percent, Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. (PRE.TO) surged 8.25 percent, Talisman Energy Inc. (TLM.TO) moved up 1.55 percent, and Cenovus Energy Inc. (CVE.TO) jumped 5.36 percent.
Imperial Oil Limited (IMO.TO) added 2.61 percent, Crescent Point Energy Corp. (CPG.TO) gathered 5.73 percent, and Enbridge Inc. (ENB.TO) moved up 3.03 percent.
Gold futures ended slightly higher, although the gains were capped with the dollar continuing to strengthen against a select band of currencies. With most global equity markets on the up, demand for the safe haven metal remained tepid.
The Global Gold Index dipped 1.28 percent, with gold for February delivery gaining $1.2 or 0.1 percent to settle at $1,196.00 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday.
Among gold stocks, Kinross Gold Corp. (K.TO) shed 3.28 percent, Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM.TO) gained 1.01 percent, Goldcorp Inc. (G.TO) dropped 2.47 percent, Eldorado Gold Corp. (ELD.TO) added 0.94 percent, Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX.TO) shed 2.02 percent, and Franco-Nevada Corp. (FNV.TO) surrendered 1.20 percent.
The Capped Materials Index dipped 0.13 percent, mostly on sharply rising gold stocks, with Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (POT.TO) gaining 1.42 percent.
The heavyweight Financial Index gained 0.37 percent, as National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) dipped 0.27 percent, Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) advanced 1.12 percent, and Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) added 0.38 percent.
Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) gained 0.25 percent, while Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) shed 0.63 percent. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) inched up 0.07 percent.
The Healthcare Index added 0.70 percent, as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (VRX.TO) gained 1.94 percent, Catamaran Corp. (CCT.TO) moved up 1.62 percent, and Extendicare Inc. (EXE.TO) added 0.76 percent.
Cardiome Pharma Corp. (COM.TO) shed 1.84 percent. A subsidiary of the company has entered into an agreement with Eddingpharm to develop and commercialize its cardiologist product BRINAVESS in China, Taiwan, and Macau and re-launch BRINAVESS in Hong Kong.
The Diversified Metals & Mining Index moved up 1.13 percent, as Teck Resources Limited (TCK.B.TO) gained 3.22 percent, First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (FM.TO) dropped 3.65 percent, and Finning International Inc. (FTT.TO) gathered 1.10 percent.
Among other mining stocks, HudBay Minerals Inc. (HBM.TO) added 0.84 percent, and Sherritt International Corp. (S.TO) gained 3.14 percent.
The Capped Industrials Index dropped0.70 percent, with Bombardier Inc. (BBD.B.TO) down 1.24 percent, Canadian National Railway Company (CNR.TO) slipping 0.93 percent, and Air Canada (AC.TO) moving up 1.45 percent.
The Information Technology Index gathered 0.74 percent, with BlackBerry Ltd. (BB.TO) down 1.10 percent. The smartphone maker is down despite reporting narrower net loss in the third quarter. The company posted a net loss of $148 million or $0.28 per share in the third quarter, narrower than $4.4 billion or $8.37 per share in the comparable quarter last year. BlackBerry also announced the completion of its acquisition of Secusmart GmbH.
The Consumer Staples Index jumped 2.82 percent, as Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (ATD.B.TO) gained 3.84 percent, Cott Corporation (BCB.TO) dropped 0.64 percent, Saputo Inc. (SAP.TO) added 3.69 percent, and Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (MFI.TO) added 2.37 percent.
In economic news, data from Statistics Canada showed core consumer price inflation to have unexpectedly declined to 2 percent in November, from 2.4 percent in the preceding month. Consumer price inflation eased to -0.4 percent last month (seasonally adjusted), from 0.1 percent in October.
Meanwhile, Canadian retail sales came in unchanged at 0.0 percent in October, beating expectations for a decline of -0.3 percent. In September retail sales were up 0.8 percent.
In other economic news, a report from the European Central Bank said the eurozone current account surplus declined notably in October, falling to a seasonally adjusted EUR 20.5 billion from EUR 32 billion in September.
German consumer confidence is set to improve to an eight-year high at the start of the year on strong gains in economic expectations and willingness-to-buy as the current economic weakness is viewed to be temporary, the market research group GfK said Friday. The forward-looking consumer confidence index climbed to 9 for January, the highest since December 2006, from 8.7 in December. The index was forecast to rise marginally to 8.8 points.
Elsewhere in Europe, the U.K. budget deficit narrowed in November, yet a considerable improvement is required to meet the government's fiscal target for 2014/15. Public sector net borrowing, excluding interventions, declined by GBP 1.6 billion from last year to GBP 14.1 billion in November, the Office for National Statistics reported Friday. Economists had forecast a shortfall of GBP 15.1 billion.
From Asia, the Bank of Japan left its monetary stimulus unchanged in order to assess the impact of its past massive easing. The unchanged stance came despite falling oil prices posing a threat to the central bank's 2 percent inflation target.
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