TSX climbs as oil touches $50 a barrel

North American stock markets pushed higher on Thursday as the energy sector strengthened and oil prices briefly broke the $50 (U.S.) mark.

Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite index gained 110.31 points at 13,978.66 points, turning around earlier losses to log a fifth-consecutive trading day of gains.

The TSX main index has launched a major climb over the past week, jumping 5.6 per cent since last Friday morning.

The loonie was up 0.28 of a cent (U.S.) at 76.82 cents.

“We are seeing a continuation of evidence that underlying investor confidence is reasonably strong,” said Kash Pashootan, a portfolio manager at First Avenue Advisory in Ottawa. “The volatility we saw in the last six to eight weeks was more of a correction than an indication of a long-term bear market to come.”

However, Pashootan expects further turbulence on the horizon.

“After five years of low volatility and above-historical-norm returns, it’s unrealistic to expect that it’s going to be smooth sailing with great returns,” he said.

Helping give the TSX an extra push on Thursday was a pop in crude oil prices, which drove the energy sector up 3.4 per cent.

The November crude contract lifted $1.62 to settle at $49.43 a barrel, after moving above $50 earlier in the session. Oil prices haven’t closed above that threshold since July.

The November contract for natural gas was up 2.4 cents at $2.50, and the December gold contract fell $4.40 to $1,144.30 an ounce.

On Wall Street, traders grappled with the details included in the September minutes from Fed officials, which suggested the first interestrate hike “might be near,” but perhaps not as soon as some hoped.

In the minutes, the Fed suggested it may be “prudent to wait” for evidence that the U.S. economy hasn’t further deteriorated.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 138.46 points at 17,050.75, while the broader S&P 500 index rose17.60 points to 2,013.43. The Nasdaq index moved ahead 19.64 points to 4,810.79.

In corporate news, layoffs at Yellow Pages will hit about 10 per cent of its workforce. The Canadian phone book and advertising directory company said it would cut about 300 jobs, primarily in management positions, with about three-quarters located in Quebec.

Overseas, the Shanghai Composite Index in mainland China soared 3.5 per cent to 3,158.12 following a weeklong holiday, while other regional benchmarks struggled following several days of gains. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 Index slipped 0.7 per cent to 18,190.98. South Korea’s Kospi dipped 0.2 per cent to 2,001.45.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.7 per cent to 22,364.32. Australia’s S&P/ ASX 200 climbed 0.4 per cent to 5,220.20.