Rebound In Resource Stocks Driving TSX Win Streak -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks are moving higher Friday morning, extending gains to a fourth successive day as crude oil prices steadied above $55 a barrel.

After a flat start, the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is up 85.44 points or 0.60 percent at 14,432.31, on course to end the week with a gain of about 5 percent.

On Thursday, the index closed up 132.87 points or 0.93 percent at 14,346.75, after scaling an intraday high of 14,439.06 and a low of 13,193.22.

The Energy Index is up 2 percent. Husky Energy Inc. (HSE.TO) is rising over 4.5 percent. Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO), Imperial Oil Limited (IMO.TO) and Tourmaline Oil Corp. (TOU.TO) are up 3 to 4 percent, while Suncor Energy Inc. (SU.TO), Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ.TO), Encana Corporation (ECA.TO), Crescent Point Energy Corp. (CPG.TO) and Talisman Energy Inc. (TLM.TO) are moving up 1 to 2 percent.

The Diversified Metals & Mining Index is up 1.7 percent. Sherritt International Corporation (S.TO) is moving up 5.3 percent, Capstone Mining Corp. (CS.TO) is rising 4.5 percent and Teck Resources (TCK.B.TO) is advancing 3 percent.

Lundin Mining Corporation (LUN.TO), HudBay Minerals Inc. (HBM.TO) and Nevsun Resources Ltd. (NSU.TO) are up 1.3 to 2 percent.

The Capped Materials Index is up 1.3 percent. Eldorado Gold Corporation (ELD.TO), Franco-Nevada Corporation (FNV.TO), Barrick Gold Corporation (ABX.TO) and Goldcorp Inc. (G.TO) are up 0.5 to 1 percent, while Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM.TO) and Silver Wheaton Corp. (SLW.TO) are moving up 1.7 percent and 2 percent, respectively.

The Financial Index is up marginally. Among big six banks, Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) and National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) are up marginally. Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) is down 0.2 percent, while Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) and Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) are flat.

Meanwhile, insurance stocks Sun Life Financial Inc. (SLF.TO), Manulife Financial Corporation (MFC.TO), Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (FFH.TO) and Power Corporation of Canada (POW.TO) are up 0.7 to 1.2 percent.

The Consumer Staples Index is up 1.3 percent, with Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (ATD.B.TO), Loblaw Companies Limited (L.TO), Saputo Inc. (SAP.TO), George Weston Limited (WN.TO) and Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (MFI.TO) gaining 1 to 2.5 percent.

Technology stock BlackBerry Ltd. (BB.TO) is down over 5.5 percent despite reporting narrower net loss. The company posted net loss of $148 million or $0.28 per share in the third quarter, narrower than $4.4 billion or $8.37 per share in the comparable quarter last year. BlackBerry also announced the completion of its acquisition of Secusmart GmbH.

Among healthcare stocks, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (VRX.TO) and Catamaran Corporation (CCT.TO) are moving up 0.7 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, Extendicare (EXE.TO) is declining 0.7 percent.

Cardiome Pharma Corp. (COM.TO) is down 0.3 percent. A subsidiary of the company has entered into an agreement with Eddingpharm to develop and commercialize its cardiologist product BRINAVESS in China, Taiwan, and Macau and re-launch BRINAVESS in Hong Kong.

In commodities, crude oil futures for January are up $1.53 or 2.82 percent at $55.64 a barrel.

Natural gas for January is down $0.150 or 4.01 percent at $3.500 per million btu.

Gold futures for February are up $3.70 or 0.31 percent at $1,198.50 an ounce.

Silver for March is down $0.075 or 0.47 percent at $16.009 an ounce. Meanwhile, copper is up $0.027 or 0.95 percent at $2.881 per pound.

According to data released by Statistics Canada, core consumer price inflation unexpectedly declined to 2 percent in November, dropping from 2.4 percent in the preceding month. Consumer price inflation eased to -0.4 percent last month (seasonally adjusted), from 0.1 percent in October.

Meanwhile, retail sales came in unchanged at 0.0 percent in October, beating expectations for a fall to -0.3 percent. In September retail sales were up 0.8 percent.