U.S. data, gold miners lift TSX to near six-year high
By John Tilak TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose to a nearly six-year high on Wednesday, buoyed by U.S. economic data and a rally in shares of gold miners after the price of bullion advanced. Private-sector data showed U.S. companies picked up the pace of hiring in March, suggesting the effects of harsh weather might be starting to taper off and setting the stage for the U.S. government's monthly nonfarm payrolls report, due out on Friday. The Toronto market climbed for a fourth straight session. It is up about 6.2 percent this year and is one of the best performers among major global indexes. "The economic data is robust enough to give investors confidence and not strong enough that the Fed will aggressively change its course," said Michael Newton, a director of wealth management and portfolio manager at ScotiaMcLeod, referring to the U.S. Federal Reserve's easy monetary policy. "There's a bit of rotation going on," he added. "Companies and investors are positioned for the specter of higher interest rates and therefore are doing now a bit of rebalancing in their portfolios." The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index <.GSPTSE> closed up 78.56 points, or 0.55 percent, at 14,459.11. "The TSX will probably surprise people," said Irwin Michael, portfolio manager at ABC Funds, who has been increasing his Canadian investments. "To my mind, the Canadian market will be a sleeper this year." Eight of the 10 main sectors on the index were higher on Wednesday. Shares of gold producers jumped 2.7 percent, with Barrick Gold Corp rising 3.8 percent to C$20.49 and Goldcorp Inc gaining 2 percent to C$27.61. Despite weakness in oil prices, shares of energy companies advanced 1 percent. Suncor Energy Inc climbed 1.6 percent to C$39.23, and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd added 1.9 percent to C$43.26. In corporate news, Yamana Gold Inc said it will buy a 50 percent stake in Osisko Mining Corp's mining and exploration assets for C$930 million ($843 million) in a move to block a hostile bid from Goldcorp. Osisko shares jumped 6.8 percent to C$7.35, while Yamana shed 2.4 percent to C$9.48. Agrium Inc said that a big backlog of grain shipments on Canada's railways and a late start to spring planting will hurt its first-quarter profits. Shares of the fertilizer company gave back 1.4 percent to C$106.09. (Editing by Nick Zieminski and Leslie Adler)
