LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Canada's equity benchmark surged more 100 points Wednesday as commodity stocks and prices advanced on the back of a slumping U.S. dollar.
At the same time, the Canadian dollar jumped overnight after Russia's central bank said it's considering investing in the currency. In recent action, Canada's dollar rose against the greenback. U.S. dollar bought C$1.049 compared with C$1.058 on Wednesday.
The TSX/S&P Composite Index ISPTX rose 104 points, or 0.9%, to 11,644.45. Advancers outpaced decliners by 853 to 495 and all of the 10 sectors tracked by the Toronto Stock Exchange were in the plus column.
Financials were also higher by 0.6%, aided by a 0.9% rise in shares of BMO Financial Group BMO to C$53.62.
A number of brokerages raised their price targets on Bank of Montreal following earnings on Tuesday that surpassed expectations. Credit Suisse early Wednesday pulled its target on BMO up to C$49 from C$42, and also listed its estimate for 2010 per-share earnings estimate.
Meanwhile, the materials group jumped 1.7% as metals and mining stocks gained. Gold prices hit a new high past $1.186 after a report that India may purchase more gold from the International Monetary Fund and as the U.S. dollar fell to low point against the euro. The drop saw European unit top the $1.50 again.
In Toronto, shares of Barrick Gold ABX rose 1.3%, Goldcorp G gained 1% and Agnico-Eagle Mines AEM rose 1.7%.
The dollar index $DXY fell 0.7%. Weakness in the dollar tends to push up prices for dollar-denominated commodities.
The "U.S. dollar is sharply lower against most major and emerging currencies...after yesterday's FOMC minutes suggested there was little risk of imminent action such as raising rates to counter the weak dollar trend," wrote currency analysts at Brown Brothers Harriman in a note to clients early Wednesday.
A spate of upbeat U.S. economic Wednesday, including better-than-expected readings on consumer spending and sales of new homes, fueled weakness in the greenback. Upbeat news encourages risk-taking, leading traders to borrow dollars nearly for free to invest in higher-yielding currencies or assets. Read more about U.S. dollar action.
Crude-oil futures recently rose 1% to $76.83 a barrel as government data showed U.S. crude inventories rose less than expected last week. Natural gas futures were also up, with the December contract 5.7% higher at $5.026 per million British thermal units. Read more on crude oil.
EnCana ECA rose 1.5% and Talisman Energy TLM gained 1.3%.
Canada had it own upbeat data to release on Wednesday. Statistics Canada said corporations made $54.1 billion in operating profit in the third quarter, a rise of 7.9% from the second quarter. The increase follows three consecutive quarterly declines in operating profits. Of the 22 industries tracked, 18 saw an increase in their bottom lines.
Profit for oil and gas, and petroleum and coal firms increased 20.4% to $5.9 billion in the third quarter, marking their first increase in four quarters, as oil prices rose. Earnings in financial industries were relatively flat as they edged up 0.3% to $12.4 billion in profit, said StatsCan.
