Advertisement
Canada markets open in 4 hours 43 minutes
  • S&P/TSX

    21,837.18
    -12.02 (-0.06%)
     
  • S&P 500

    5,149.42
    +32.33 (+0.63%)
     
  • DOW

    38,790.43
    +75.63 (+0.20%)
     
  • CAD/USD

    0.7366
    -0.0023 (-0.30%)
     
  • CRUDE OIL

    82.56
    -0.16 (-0.19%)
     
  • Bitcoin CAD

    86,414.73
    -5,669.75 (-6.16%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,152.90
    -11.40 (-0.53%)
     
  • RUSSELL 2000

    2,024.74
    -14.58 (-0.72%)
     
  • 10-Yr Bond

    4.3400
    0.0000 (0.00%)
     
  • NASDAQ futures

    18,197.00
    -34.50 (-0.19%)
     
  • VOLATILITY

    14.49
    +0.16 (+1.12%)
     
  • FTSE

    7,729.69
    +7.14 (+0.09%)
     
  • NIKKEI 225

    40,003.60
    +263.20 (+0.66%)
     
  • CAD/EUR

    0.6790
    -0.0002 (-0.03%)
     

Banks, energy stocks help TSX extend 19-month high

A sign board displaying Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) stock information is seen in Toronto June 23, 2014. REUTERS/Mark Blinch (Reuters)

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index added to a 19-month high on Thursday, helped by gains for heavyweight energy and financial stocks as commodity prices rose and data showed a surge in building permits. At 9:45 a.m. EST, the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index <.GSPTSE> was up 29.29 points, or 0.19 percent, at 15,267.04. Only the three biggest groups out of 10 were in positive territory the day after gains in industrial, technology and financial stocks pushed the index to its highest since May 5, 2015. The most influential movers included Bank of Montreal , which added to sharp gains since reporting strong earnings earlier in the week. It rose 1.4 percent to C$94.43. Encana Corp was another positive influence, advancing 2.9 percent to C$16.91. Crescent Point Energy advanced 1 percent to C$17.79 after saying it would increase its capital budget by 31 percent and boost production by 10 percent in 2017. Encana is among others expected to follow, as cautious optimism trickles into the energy industry due to improvements in operating efficiency and two years of steep cost-cutting. The energy group was up 0.3 percent overall as U.S. benchmark oil prices moved back above $50 a barrel. [O/R] The financials group gained 0.8 percent. The value of Canadian building permits surged unexpectedly in October, mainly due to plans for increased construction in Alberta ahead of changes to the province's building code, data from Statistics Canada showed on Thursday. The 8.7 percent increase in permits was well above economists' forecast for a decline of 0.7 percent. September's figures were also revised upward to show a decline of 4.6 percent from an initially reported decrease of 7.0 percent. (Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)