Canadian Stocks Extend Winning Streak To Four Days

(RTTNews) - Extending the upward move seen over the past several sessions, Canadian stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading day on Friday.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index showed a strong move to the upside in morning trading and remained firmly positive throughout the day.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index jumped 221.72 points or 0.9 percent to 25,067.92, closing higher for the fourth straight day.

The continued strength on Bay Street came amid renewed optimism about the outlook for U.S. interest rates following the inflation data released over the past few days.

Adding to the interest rate optimism, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller told CNBC the central bank could lower interest rates multiple times this year if inflation eases as he is expecting.

Interest rate-sensitive utilities stocks turned in some of the market's best performances, with the S&P/TSX Capped Utilities Index surging by 1.4 percent.

Energy, industrial and financial stocks also saw notable strength on the day, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.