|
TORONTO, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Canada's main stock market in Toronto closed mildly higher after touching a fresh 11-month high Wednesday as financial and energy stocks advanced with higher crude oil prices.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index added 8.96 point, or 0.06 percent, to close at 14,533.57 points. Seven of the TSX index's eight main sub-sectors were higher.
Oil prices rallied Wednesday as official data showed that U.S. crude inventories declined for a ninth straight week.
U.S. WTI light sweet crude for August delivery climbed 0.29 U.S. dollar to settle at 44.94 dollars a barrel, while Brent crude for September delivery added 0.51 dollar to close at 47.17 dollars a barrel.
TSX energy went up 0.80 percent as a group, as Encana Corporation rose 3.37 percent to 10.43 Canadian dollars (7.99 U.S. dollars) while Suncor Energy Inc. added 0.70 percent to 36.05 Canadian dollars.
Financials rose 0.70 percent, powered up by a 0.98 percent gain for Royal Bank of Canada to 80.72 Canadian dollars.
Brookfield Asset Management Inc. rose 0.79 percent to 45.99 Canadian dollars. The company plans to invest about 1 billion Canadian dollars in Indian distressed assets through a joint venture with the largest lender in the South Asian nation.
Industrials advanced 1.87 percent, led by railroad stocks. Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. reported lower second-quarter earnings as volumes dropped, and it said its chief executive officer would step down next July while remaining as an adviser. Still, CP's shares surged 5.52 percent to 196.26 Canadian dollars.
Enbridge Inc. fell 1.89 percent to 53.55 Canadian dollars. The U.S. Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency will fine the company 62 million U.S. dollars for a 2010 oil spill that released crude into the Kalamazoo River in Michigan, a TV station in the state reported on Wednesday.
Barrick Gold Corp. dropped 7.44 percent to 26.00 Canadian dollars as gold fell to a three-week low, and Goldcorp declined 5.52 percent to 23.46 Canadian dollars.
The Canadian dollar traded lower at 0.7666 U.S. dollar, compared with Tuesday's closing rate of 0.7676 U.S. dollar. Enditem
