Canadian shares rose today, halting a three-day slide, a rally in oil prices lifted energy producers. The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index (TSE:OSPTX) rose 0.5 percent to 14,814.94 at 12:33 p.m. in Toronto. Three shares advanced for every two issues that declined as six out of ten share groups were in the positive territory.
The energy sector, the main index's second most heavily weighted group, climbed 1.6 percent as oil, Canada’s largest export, rallied on expectations for declines in U.S. shale output.
Suncor Energy (TSE:SU), Canada's largest oil sands producer, gained 2.3 percent to C$35.87. Enbridge (TSE:ENB), Canada's largest pipeline company, added 1.1 percent to C$56.90.
Canadian Natural Resources Limited (TSE:CNQ), Canada’s second-largest energy producer, rose 1.7 percent to C$37.17, and Cenovus Energy (TSE:CVE) (NYSE:CVE), the Canadian oil and gas producer with refineries in the U.S, gained 1.5 percent. Both have resumed operations at northern Alberta sites, which were shut down for more than two weeks by a wildfire.
July crude jumped 2.8 percent to $59.75 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. July Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose 3.1 percent to $64.64 a barrel.
The materials sub-index, which includes mining shares, was up 0.1 percent, as gold prices rose. Goldcorp (TSE:G), Canada’s largest gold miner by market value, fell 0.6 percent to C$21.31. Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX), the second-largest, advanced 1.2 percent to C$14.37.
Gold for August delivery, the most actively traded contract, was recently up 0.5 percent at $1,179.40 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, gained 0.5 percent. Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY), which has the heaviest weighting in the index, skidded 0.6 percent to C$78.15. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD/Toronto-Dominion-Bank/" rel="4252">TSE:TD), the second-largest bank by market value, rallied 1.6 percent to C$54.34.
Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) gained 6.3 percent to $65.39 after the yogawear maker raised its full-year outlook and reported first-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates. The results were helped by a 6 percent rise in comparable-store sales.
Carmanah Technologies (TSE:CMH) rose 3.4 percent to $6.10. The solar technology company was awarded a C$5.9 million contract to build rooftop solar systems.
Com Dev International (TSE:CDV) jumped 5.6 percent to C$5.67 as the maker of satellite parts received a contract valued over C$9 million to supply passive microwave equipment for a communications satellite. The global provider of space hardware and services said the initial Authorization to Proceed is valued at C$4 million.
Telus (TSE:T) was down 0.5 percent at C$41.38. Canada’s third-biggest wireless carrier is closing its chain of Blacks Photo Corp. retail photography stores, saying it wasn’t able to make a profit.
The junior S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (CVE:OSPVX) inched down 0.3 percent to 684.25 at 12:33 p.m. in Toronto.
In the U.S. market, shares edged lower today as a rise in borrowing rates has put pressure on global equities. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) gained 0.2 percent to 2,082.65 at 11:42 a.m. in New York. The 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) added 0.2 percent to 17,793.71. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (INDEXNASDAQ:NDX) slipped 0.1 percent to 4,425.78. Most followed shares included Apple, Atmel, P&G, Lululemon Athletica, Quiksilver, Burlington Stores, GM, Peabody Energy, Sage, GE, and HSBC.