TSX gains for fifth session as resources climb
By John Tilak TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index extended its gains to a fifth straight session on Tuesday as weakness in the U.S. dollar helped drive up prices of commodities such as oil and gold, boosting shares of natural resource producers. Brent crude oil prices jumped nearly 2 percent, and the bullion price added more than 1 percent. The gains helped offset concerns about the Greek election results and sluggish U.S. earnings reports. The benchmark TSX index's recent string of advances comes after an unexpected interest rate cut by the Bank of Canada last week. The index is up slightly this year. “The U.S. market is the sole beacon of prosperity in the global equity space, and there is very little doubt that much money will be going into chasing U.S. equities,” said Elvis Picardo, strategist and vice president of research at Global Securities in Vancouver. “Given the looming headwinds for the Canadian market, one has to be cautious,” he added, noting that the effect of lower oil prices on the Canadian economy might be significant. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index <.GSPTSE> closed up 36.05 points, or 0.24 percent, at 14,833.88. Six of the 10 main sectors on the index were in the red. Shares of oil and gas producers climbed. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd advanced 1 percent to C$36.63. Among gold miners, Goldcorp Inc climbed 2.6 percent to C$30.53 and Barrick Gold Corp rose 2.8 percent to C$16.26. Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, gave back 0.5 percent. Royal Bank of Canada shed 0.3 percent to C$75.12, and Toronto-Dominion Bank lost 0.4 percent to C$52.23. (Editing by Peter Galloway and Chris Reese)
