TSX gains as Poloz assures economy in good shape
(Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on Wednesday after Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz assured the Canadian economy is in good shape. * At 9:35 a.m. ET (14:35 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 57.37 points, or 0.38 percent, at 15,291.13. * Poloz said low oil prices are delivering "a material shock" that would cut economic growth this year and reiterated that the pace of future interest rate hikes would be heavily dependent on economic data. * Latest data showed Canadian retail sales fell 0.9 percent in November from C$50.39 billion ($37.85 billion)in October. * Ten of the index's 11 major sectors were higher, led by a 1.9 percent gain in the consumer discretionary index. * The energy sector climbed 0.8 percent as U.S. crude prices were up 0.3 percent a barrel, while Brent crude added 0.4 percent. * The financials sector gained 0.2 percent and industrials rose 0.2 percent. * The only loser was the materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, with a 0.1 percent loss. * On the TSX, 157 issues were higher, while 65 issues declined for a 2.42-to-1 ratio favoring gainers, with 10.10 million shares traded. * The largest percentage gainer on the TSX was Restaurant Brands International Inc , which jumped 6.9 percent after naming Jose Cil, the current head of its Burger King unit, as its chief executive officer. * TransAlta Corp , which rose 6.0 percent, was the second biggest advancer. * Pretium Resources Inc fell 2.8 percent, the most on the TSX. The second biggest decliner was Centerra Gold Inc , which fell 2.3 percent. * The most heavily traded shares by volume were Royal Nickel , Aurora Cannabis and Aphria Inc . * The TSX posted three new 52-week highs and no new lows. * Across all Canadian issues, there were four new 52-week highs and one new low, with total volume of 17.10 million shares. (Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
