TORONTO, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Canada's main stock index Thursday extended its rising streak for the fourth consecutive day over stronger prices for commodities.
The benchmark Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index added 53.87 points, or 0.37 percent to end this week's trading at 14,500.39 points, and the market will be closed Friday because of the Easter holiday.
The Canadian stock market was boosted as commodities prices advanced. Light, sweet crude for May delivery edged up 0.54 U.S dollars to settle at 104.3 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while the natural gas futures for delivery in May traded at 4.741 U.S. dollars per million British thermal units by increasing 4.66 percent.
Most of the major sectors in the index enjoyed a slight increase although investors were trading cautiously with a volume of 169 million shares.
The most weighed sector Financials moved up 0.5 percent with the insurer Manulife Financial gaining 1.42 percent to 20.66 Canadian dollars (about 18.77 U.S. dollars).
The energy sector logged the biggest gain by 1.32 percent as Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. increased to 44.75 Canadian dollars by 1.52 percent in its share price.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported that the consumer price index rose 1.5 percent in the 12 months to March, following a 1.1 percent increase in February.
Bank of Canada said an interest rate cut is still a possibility while the bank will keep the current rate steady in the near future.
The Canadian dollar was up to 0.9083 U.S dollar on Thursday, compared with 0.9079 U.S. dollar on the last trading day.
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