S&P/ TSX composite rises on gold, copper

TORONTO • Canada’s main stock index climbed higher in light trading on Thursday, as materials stocks benefited from a slight uptick in gold and copper prices.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 38.27 points at 17,351.34. But trading volume was just shy of 97.5 million, below the 236 million shares that change hands on average.

The increase came as U. S. stock markets were closed for the Thanksgiving Day holiday. The Canadian dollar traded for US76.85 cents compared with US76.91 cents on Wednesday.

“It’s not unusual for Canada to just have a quiet day when the United States is closed, and that’s kind of what we’re seeing on an overall basis today,” said Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management.

Cieszynski noted that prices for base and precious metals have been picking up, helping the materials sector, which includes shares of mining companies.

The February gold contract was up US$ 3 at US$ 1,814.20 an ounce and the March copper contract was almost 4.9 cents higher at nearly US$ 3.38 a pound. Shares in the sector rose 1.23 per cent on Thursday, although futures contracts only traded half the day.

“With gold, it’s a case of the selling pressure easing,” said Cieszynski, noting that it has not been an easy month for the precious metal, which can be seen by some investors as a safe investment in times of uncertainty.

“Gold and silver have been under a lot of pressure, because capital has been leaving defensive havens. Investor confidence has improved quite dramatically as we’ve seen with the TSX rally, and U. S. indexes like the Dow trading at all- time highs,” Cieszynski added. “Fear has been going down, and capital has been coming in precious metals.”

Copper, meanwhile, is one commodity that has prices sensitive to investor sentiment about the economy, Cieszynski said.

“Positive news related to vaccines has been mounting over the last few weeks,” said Cieszynski. “Copper and lumber are used in a wide variety of applications across the economy. So they are commodities that see demand increase when the economy’s doing well.”

The January crude contract was down 72 cents at US$44.99 per barrel.