Canadian dollar climbs to three-week high as oil jumps 3%
By Nick Godt, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Canadian stocks rose on Wednesday, receiving a lift after the government said the economy grew for second month in a row in October, helping lift stocks in the energy and mining sectors.
Meanwhile, mixed economic news south of the border pressured the U.S. dollar and helped lift commodities, such as oil and gold, providing a further boost.
Crude oil futures jumped 3.1% to $76.67 a barrel after data showed a bigger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventories. Read more on oil. The Canadian dollar rose to a three-week high against its U.S. counterpart, which fell 0.8% to CAD$1.0476.
In Toronto, the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index (CA:ISPTX 11,659, +30.72, +0.26%) gained 30 points, or 0.3%, to 11,658.
Practically all of the market's strength came from the mining sector, which rose 1.7%, and the energy sector, up 0.6%. Five of Toronto Stock Exchange's other six sectors were in the red.
The Canadian economy grew by 0.2% in October following a 0.4% advance in September, Statistics Canada reported. Economists at BMO Capital Markets expected the economy to rise 0.3% in October.
The "solid but unspectacular gain" marks the first back-to-back monthly advance, and sets "the stage for growth in all of the fourth quarter of better than 3%", said Doug Porter, economist at BMO, in emailed comments.
In the mining sector, shares of Lundin Mining (CA:LUN 4.27, +0.30, +7.56%) rose 7.6%, Barrick Gold (ABX 40.27, +0.07, +0.17%) gained 2.4%, and Iamgold (CA:IMG 16.46, +0.40, +2.49%) was up 2.5%.
Gold futures rebounded from their lowest level in seven weeks, as the U.S. dollar gave back some of its recent strength. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for December delivery rose 0.7%, to $1,094 an ounce. Read more on metals.
Among energy stocks, Suncor Energy (CA:SU 37.13, +0.63, +1.73%) gained 1.7% and Antrim Energy (CA:AEN 1.30, +0.10, +8.33%) was up 8.3%.
Financials took a hit, however, falling along with their U.S. counterparts after a report that showed new home sales plunged 11% south of the border in November.
Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (CA:RY 55.57, -0.98, -1.73%) dropped 1.7%, and Bank of Nova Scotia (CA:BNS 48.26, -0.54, -1.11%) lost 1%.
