Toronto stock index rises in broad-based advance, oil prices pull ahead

TORONTO – Canada’s leading stock index headed higher Thursday amid a broad-based advance, as oil prices retreated from a 10-month low the day before.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index gained 71.37 points to 15,219.90, with nearly all sectors finishing up.

In corporate news, shares in Home Capital Group (TSX:HCG) surged more than 27 per cent after the alternative mortgage lender announced it arranged $400 million in equity investments and other financial support from companies run by famed billionaire investor Warren Buffett.

A subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett’s main company, will also provide Home Capital with a new $2 billion line of credit as it looks to restoring investor and depositor confidence after it resolved allegations of misleading disclosure.

Home Capital shares gained $4.06 to $19 on the TSX.

On the retailing front, department store operator Sears Canada (TSX:SCC) announced it was laying off 2,900 people and shutting down 59 stores amid restructuring plans and after being granted temporary protection from creditors. Its shares were halted at 62 cents on the TSX.

South of the border, the Dow Jones industrial average pulled back 12.74 points to 21,397.29 and the S&P 500 index lost 1.11 points to 2,434.50. The Nasdaq composite index was ahead 2.74 points to 6,236.69.

In commodities, the August crude contract climbed 21 cents at US$42.74 per barrel after falling to levels on Wednesday not seen since August.

Oil prices have declined about 20 per cent this year amid fears of a growing global supply glut, putting at peril the big gains in profits that analysts had forecast for energy companies.

Senior portfolio manager Noman Ali believes the weakness in crude is short term, with the price of a barrel to get back up to the $50 range by the end of the year.

“We think prices are going to recover from the current level,” said Ali, who works at Manulife Asset Management.

He believes the support will come from continued production compliance from OPEC and non-OPEC members such as Mexico and Canada. Demand is also expected to pick up in the summer driving months.

Elsewhere, the August gold contract was up $3.60 to US$1,249.40 an ounce, while the July natural gas contract was unchanged at US$2.89 per mmBTU and the July copper contract was flat at US$2.60 a pound.

The Canadian dollar jumped 0.39 of a U.S. cent to 75.52 cents US, as Statistics Canada reported better than expected retail sales in April.

The agency reported that sales rose 0.8 per cent to $48.6 billion for the month. Excluding sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales climbed 1.5 per cent.

Economists had expected an overall gain of 0.2 per cent and an increase of 0.7 per cent, excluding autos, according to Thomson Reuters.

— With files from The Associated Press

Follow @LindaNguyenTO on Twitter.

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