TSX snaps back on U.S. data as BlackBerry, Bombardier rise
By John Tilak TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index jumped in choppy trading on Friday, recovering from a sharp selloff the previous session, as U.S. economic data helped drive gains. Advances in shares of Bombardier Inc and BlackBerry provided further support. BlackBerry shot up 5.2 percent after the company reported a much smaller-than-expected quarterly loss and flashed encouraging signals about its hard-pressed smartphone business as well as its software and services sales. Bombardier jumped 3.7 percent after saying that aircraft leasing company Macquarie AirFinance had signed an agreement to buy 40 of its new CSeries jets, with an option for 10 more. Investors were encouraged by data that showed the U.S. economy grew at its fastest pace in 2-1/2 years in the second quarter. The Toronto stock market's benchmark TSX index, which had dropped in each of the previous five sessions, recorded its fourth straight weekly decline. It is down more than 4 percent from the record high it hit earlier this month. “After a very volatile week, it looks like bargain hunters are coming into the market," said Youssef Zohny, portfolio manager at Stenner Investment Partners of Richardson GMP Ltd, which manages about C$28.3 billion in assets. He said the recent rally in the U.S. dollar weighed heavily on commodity prices, which in turn hit shares of Canadian natural resource producers. “If we see some stability on the currency front, we could see commodity prices starting to rebound,” Zohny said. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index <.GSPTSE> ended up 133.2 points, or 0.89 percent, at 15,026.77. Nine of the 10 main sectors on the index were higher. Shares of energy producers climbed 1.5 percent, following the price of U.S. crude oil higher. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd advanced 2.6 percent to C$44.33, and Suncor Energy Inc rose 1 percent to C$40.69. The gold-mining sector shed 0.9 percent, reflecting weakness in the bullion price. Goldcorp Inc slipped 0.6 percent to C$26.24, and Barrick Gold Corp fell 0.5 percent to C$17.02. ($1=$1.11 Canadian) (With additional reporting by Jeffrey Hodgson; Editing by Tom Brown; and Peter Galloway)
