TSX jumps as oil price rebound supports energy shares

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index climbed on Wednesday as a fall in U.S. crude inventories boosted both oil prices and shares of energy producers.

The benchmark TSX was up for a fourth straight session as shares of natural resource companies have rebounded slightly in recent days.

“We’re seeing a very strong rebound in the commodity complex, particularly in energy. Some buying is coming back to the sector,” said Youssef Zohny, portfolio manager at StennerZohny Investment Partners of Richardson GMP Ltd, which manages about C$28.3 billion in assets.

“We see some rebalancing as we head into the New Year. There’s some relative value there,” he added. The energy sector jumped 5.8 percent. Suncor Energy Inc (Toronto:SU.TO - News) added 3.4 percent to C$37.19, and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd (Toronto:CNQ.TO - News) advanced 7.3 percent to C$31.13.

The price of U.S. crude oil gained 4.8 percent to $37.86.

However, the issue of high supply and low demand does not show any signs of going away anytime soon. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries expects demand for its crude to be lower in 2020 than in 2016.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) closed up 202.05 points, or 1.54 percent, at 13,284.91. All of the 10 main sectors on the index were higher.

A gain in copper prices helped support mining shares. Teck Resources Ltd (TCKb.TO) shot up 9.3 percent to C$5.53, and First Quantum Minerals Ltd (Toronto:FM.TO - News) rose 17.2 percent to C$6.

(Reporting by John Tilak Editing by W Simon and David Gregorio)