Energy Stocks Help TSX To 5-Day Win Streak -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks rallied for fifth consecutive session Thursday, racing higher amid signs that U.S. interest rates will stay at zero for a while.

Traders were reluctant to buy stocks earlier in the day, but dovish minutes from the Fed's most recent meeting put investors at ease.

The S&P/TSX composite index jumped 110.31 points, or 0.80 percent, to 13,978.66. That's the highest level since August, but the main index remains lower by about 5 percent in 2015.

Energy stocks surged as U.S. crude oil jumped near $50 a barrel. Secretary General of OPEC Abdalla Salem el-Badri predicted earlier in the week that non-OPEC supply could drop to zero or even turn negative in 2016, fueling the rebound in crude oil prices.

The Energy Index jumped 3.3 percent, while the Diversified Metals and Mining Index added another 1 percent to this week's furious rally.

Encana (ECA.TO) gained 6.5 percent. The company has agreed to sell its Denver Julesburg Basin assets in Colorado to Canada Pension Plan Investment Board entity for around $900 million.

IAMGOLD (IMG.TO) dropped 5 percent. The company has started a process to reduce by 10 percent the number of employees at its Rosebel Gold Mines in Suriname.

TransCanada Corp. (TRP.TO) lost 0.7 percent. The company is paying $654 million for a natural gas-fired plant in Pennsylvania.

Yellow Pages (Y.TO) added 0.5 percent after saying it will cut approximately 300 positions across Canada.