Metals, energy shares lead TSX; gold glitters

TORONTO — Rallying metals and energy shares led a broad-based advance on Canada’s main stock index Friday, as oil and gold prices rose sharply.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 64.97 points to 15807.17.

“Nearly a third of the equity markets are benefiting from the resource trade,” said Shailesh Kshatriya, director of Canadian strategies at Russell Investments Canada.

Rising oil prices saw the November crude contract advance 85 cents to $51.45 US per barrel — an increase Kshatriya partially attributed to bullish trade data showing that Chinese oil imports were up.

Looking at 2017 as a whole, an International Energy Agency report released Thursday said that it expects Chinese oil demand growth to accelerate to 540 kb/d from 310 kb/d in 2016.

Geopolitical uncertainties in the Middle East also contributed to Friday’s bounce in crude prices, Kshatriya added. “That could potentially contribute some disruption in terms of movement of oil for that region,” he said.

Base metals and materials companies rose on the TSX with metal prices. The December gold contract advanced $8.10 to $1,304.60 US an ounce and the December copper contract was up one cent to $3.13 US a pound.

It was also a positive day for Wall Street, despite falling health insurer and hospital operator stocks in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to stop government payments to insurance companies under the Affordable Care Act.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 30.71 points to 22871.72 and the S&P 500 index inched up 2.24 points to 2553.17. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq composite index gained 14.29 points to 6605.80, a record high.

In currency markets, the Canadian dollar was trading at an average price of 80.08 cents US, down 0.10 of a cent.

Elsewhere in commodities, the November natural gas contract was up one cent at $3.00 US per mmBTU.