Canadian stock market extends gains on rally in miners, utilities shares

Canada's main stock market in Toronto on Friday moved higher for a fourth consecutive day this week as miners and utilities shares both rebounded with a big rally from the steep drop Thursday. Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's /TSX Composite Index was up 85.95 points, or 0.6 percent, to 14,468.73 points. And the equities market in Toronto will be closed Monday for a public holiday.

The index was still in the winning streak amid the mixed performances of resources sectors. Energy lost 0.55 percent, while Metals and mining rallied 2.59 percent.

Stocks from the oil-patch as a whole were in the red as investors' concern about the oil oversupply became intensified after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said Thursday that price volatility and the general oversupply in the oil market observed in recent quarters have been less conducive for market stability.

Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. plunged 2.1 percent to 7.46 Canadian dollars (about 5.7 U.S. dollars) a share while Crescent Point Energy Corp. fell 1.93 percent to 19.81 Canadian dollars per share.

However, the gains driven by big rallies in giant miners helped offset the losses, when First Quantum Minerals Ltd. jumped 3.26 percent to 10.45 Canadian dollars and Goldcorp Inc. spiked 6.01 percent to 17.45 Canadian dollars per share.

Besides, Utilities, which was higher 3.98 percent, the biggest rise by percentage, strengthened the index as well when its heavyweight Fortis Inc. rose 3.94 percent, stimulated by its upbeat quarterly earnings report. The Canadian gas and electricity distributor said that its net earnings attributable to common equity shareholders were 244 million Canadian dollars in the second quarter this year, compared to 47 million Canadian dollars, for the second quarter of 2014.

On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported Friday that the real gross domestic product of the country fell 0.2 percent in May, the fifth consecutive monthly decrease. And the federal agency said the decline in May was mostly a result of contractions in manufacturing, mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction as well as wholesale trade.

"Economic growth in Canada has been disappointing in the first half of the year. The first quarter recorded a shallow contraction, and tracking for the second quarter points to another negative print," according to an economic observation report released by TD Bank Friday.

On the currency front, the Canadian dollar was traded lower to 0.7645 U.S. dollar Friday, when compared with 0.7686 U.S. dollar Thursday. And the recent depreciation of the loonie (Canadian dollar) against the greenback, complemented by solid domestic demand stateside, should create the right conditions for resurgent export growth, said Randall Bartlett, a senior economist from TD Bank, in a report Friday.