Yahoo Finance TSX rebounds as oil rallies, led by banks, energy stocks
By Fergal Smith
TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rebounded on Friday after five days of losses, led by banks and energy stocks as crude oil prices rallied and after U.S. retail sales data offered encouragement on economic growth.
Relative calm returned to financial markets after a week of turmoil in which investors worried about the impact of negative interest rates on banking profits.
U.S. consumer spending appeared to have regained its momentum in January, supporting the possibility of Federal Reserve rate hikes this year.
It was a "risk trade back on" day after markets suffered "a bit of a beating across the board," said Sadiq Adatia, chief investment officer at Sun Life Global Investments.
Still, the index fell 3 percent for the week, having hit a three-week low on Thursday as disappointing corporate earnings added to broad investor unease about the global economy.
Cenovus Energy Inc (Toronto:CVE.TO - News) rose 4 percent to C$14.51. The oil producer said it may sell up to $5 billion of stock, debt or other securities, a day after it announced a dividend cut, as the company shores up its balance sheet amid a slump in oil prices.
The overall energy group rose 3.3 percent as crude oil prices rallied on prospects of a coordinated production cut. It included a 3.9 percent rise in the shares of Suncor Energy Inc (Toronto:SU.TO - News) to C$30.57.
U.S. crude prices settled at $29.44 a barrel, up 12.32 percent.
The most influential movers on the index were bank stocks, including Royal Bank of Canada (Toronto:RY.TO - News), which rose 4.6 percent to C$67.98, and Toronto-Dominion Bank (Toronto:TD.TO - News), which advanced 3.7 percent to C$50.81.
The overall financial services sector rose 3.6 percent.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) closed up 293.87 points, or 2.43 percent, at 12,381.24. All 10 of the index's main groups ended higher.
It was the biggest rally since closing 2.94 percent higher on Jan. 22 and the second-biggest since August last year.
"I think next week will be a better week than we saw this week; hopefully the momentum carries forward," said Adatia.
"But I think it is still going to be a very choppy ride in 2016," he added. "There are more risks than there were two or three years ago"
Among drags on the index, shares of Telus Corp (Toronto:T.TO - News) fell 0.6 percent to C$39.45 a day after the telecom company reported a fall in quarterly profit.
Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (Toronto:POT.TO - News) was down 2.1 percent at C$21.37.
(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Dan Grebler)
