Canadian Stocks Rally As Volatility Picks Up -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks are moving higher Thursday morning, lifted by some hectic buying across the board, on the back of a batch of fairly upbeat U.S. economic data.

Bargain hunting after yesterday's sharp plunge is contributing as well to the market's sharp upmove.

Investors reacting positively to the data on U.S. jobless claims and retail sales.

Despite sluggish crude oil futures, some beaten down oil stocks have risen sharply this morning.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is up 223.67 points or 1.61 percent at 14,076.62.

On Wednesday, the index closed down 342.78 points or 2.41 percent at 13,852.95, after declining to a low of 13,779.54, the lowest level since February 2014.

The Financial Index is up nearly 1 percent, with the big six banks gaining 0.7 to 1.3 percent.

Laurentian Bank of Canada (LB.TO) reported adjusted net income of $42.6 million or $1.39 per share for the fourth quarter, compared with $38.5 million or $1.26 per share for the same period last year. The stock is up 1.3 percent.

Insurance stocks Power Corporation of Canada (POW.TO), Sun Life Financial Inc. (SLF.TO) and Manulife Financial Corporation (MFC.TO) are moving up 1 to 1.3 percent.

The Industrials Index is up 1.7 percent. Canadian National Railway Company (CNR.TO), Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (CP.TO), Bombardier Inc. (BBD.B.TO), WestJet Airlines Ltd. (WJA.TO), Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd. (BIN.TO), CAE Inc. (CAE.TO), Air Canada (AC.TO) and MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA.TO) are up 1 to 3 percent.

The Energy Index is up 2.2 percent. Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ.TO), Imperial Oil Limited (IMO.TO), Crescent Point Energy Corp. (CPG.TO) and Husky Energy Inc. (HSE.TO) are up 1 to 2 percent.

Encana Corporation (ECA.TO), ARC Resources Ltd. (ARX.TO) and Vermilion Energy Inc. (VET.TO) are moving up 2 to 3 percent, while Tourmaline Oil Corp. (TOU.TO) is rising 3.7 percent.

Cenovus Energy Inc. (CVE.TO) is up 1.3 percent. The company is planning capital investment of between $2.5 billion and $2.7 billion in 2015. Total cash flow for the year is projected to lie between $2.6 billion and $2.9 billion.

The Healthcare Index is up 1.1 percent. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (VRX.TO) is up 0.7 percent and Catamaran Corporation (CCT.TO) is moving up nearly 2 percent.

The Information Technology Index is up 1.85 percent. Celestica Inc. (CLS.TO) is rising 5.3 percent, Sierra Wireless Inc. (SW.TO) is advancing 4 percent and Descartes Systems Group Inc. (DSG.TO) is moving up 3.15 percent. Avigilon Corporation (AVO.TO) BlackBerry (BB.TO), CGI Group Inc. (GIB.A.TO), DH Corporation (DH.TO) and Open Text Corporation (OTC.TO) are up 1 to 2.5 percent.

The Diversified Metals & Mining Index is down 0.4 percent. Teck Resources (TCK.B.TO) is declining over 5 percent and First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) is down nearly 1 percent.

Turquoise Hill Resources (TRQ.TO) is moving up 1.2 percent, Capstone Mining Corp. (CS.TO) is rising 1.7 percent, Major Drilling Group International Inc. (MDI.TO) is advancing 1.3 percent and Sherritt International Corporation (S.TO) is adding 1 percent.

Gold stocks are turning in a mixed performance. Barrick Gold Corporation (ABX.TO) is moving up 1.3 percent and Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) is up 1.1 percent.

Meanwhile, Franco-Nevada Corporation (FNV.TO), GoldCorp Inc. (G.TO) and Eldorado Gold Corporation (ELD.TO) are down 0.7 to 1.2 percent.

Transat A.T. Inc. (TRZ.B.TO) is up 2.3 percent after reporting fourth quarter net income of $30.6 million, down 44 percent from a year earlier.

In commodities, crude oil futures for January are down $0.20 or 0.33 percent at 60.74 a barrel.

Natural gas for January is down $0.011 or 0.31 percent at $3.691 per million btu.

Gold futures for February are down $2.60 or 0.21 percent at $1,226.80 an ounce.

Silver for March is down $0.017 or 0.10 percent at $17.177 an ounce. Meanwhile, copper is up $0.032 or 1.10 percent at $2.926 per pound.

Data released by the U.S. Labor Department showed jobless claims to have declined to 294,000 in the week ended December 6th, down 3,000 from the previous week's unrevised figure of 297,000. Economists had expected claims to slip to 295,000.

Meanwhile, a report from the Commerce Department showed U.S. retail sales to have climbed by a more than expected 0.7 percent in November, following an upwardly revised 0.5 percent increase in October. Economists had forecast a 0.4 percent increase in retail sales.