CANADA STOCKS-Broad-based gains help Toronto market rebound
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TSX ends up 0.8% at 20,765.73
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Materials group rallies 1.1%
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Financials add 0.8%
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BlackBerry tanks on Q4 revenue forecast
(Updates at market close)
By Shashwat Chauhan and Fergal Smith
Dec 21 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on Thursday despite a sharp drop in the shares of BlackBerry, in a rally across sectors that clawed back much of the previous day's decline.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended up 164.92 points, or 0.8%, at 20,765.73, after falling more than 1% on Wednesday.
Wall Street also rebounded as economic data fueled optimism that the Federal Reserve would ease monetary policy and revived investor risk appetite.
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose marginally last week, suggesting underlying strength in the economy as the year winds down.
"The claims data – along with other recent labor market statistics – are consistent with a job market that is cooling but not freezing," said Nancy Vanden Houten, lead US economist at Oxford Economics.
"We expect a further slowdown in employment to put downward pressure on wage growth and inflation, allowing the Fed to start cutting rates next year."
Last week, the Fed hinted it could look at interest rate cuts next year.
The materials sector, which houses Canada's major mining firms, rallied 1.1%, as gold and copper prices rose.
Heavily-weighted financials added 0.8% and industrials were up 0.9%. All ten major sectors ended higher.
BlackBerry Ltd shares dropped 13.5% after the technology company forecast fourth-quarter revenue below analysts' expectations. (Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto and Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shweta Agarwal and Deepa Babington)
