Canada equities rise on strength in mining shares

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Canadian equities rose Wednesday, as strength in the metals mining and financial sectors helped lift Toronto’s benchmark stock index higher for a second-straight session.

The energy sector, meanwhile, bucked the trend to trade lower.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index /quotes/zigman/20942 CA:$ISPTX +0.16% was up 24 points, or 0.2%, at 11,520, as the diversified mining and metals index /quotes/zigman/24977 XX:TTMN +2.08% climbed 1.9% and the financials index /quotes/zigman/23265 XX:TTFS +0.93% added 0.9%.

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Gold miners continued to gain momentum following the previous session’s close, with shares of Franco Nevada Corp. /quotes/zigman/40545 CA:FNV +2.15% up 2.9%. First Quantum Minerals Ltd. ‘s stock /quotes/zigman/11596 CA:FM +5.03% was among top percentage gainers, up 6.3%.

Gold futures looked set for a fourth-straight session of gains, with gold for August delivery /quotes/zigman/676896 GCQ2 +0.34% climbing 0.3% to trade at $1,618.60 an ounce, boosted by news of a decline in U.S. retail sales and producer prices. Read more on Gold.

In Toronto, the energy sector /quotes/zigman/23267 XX:TTEN -0.88% eased by 0.3% as oil futures moved into negative territory, down by 0.1% to trade at $83.27 a barrel, after closing yesterday with a 0.8% gain. U.S. crude supply fell by 200,000 barrels for the week ended June 8, data showed in a government report issued Wednesday. Read more on oil.

Traders “should expect to see some day to day fluctuations in crude until there are some major catalysts coming out of Europe or the U.S.,” said Mazen Issa, Canada macro strategist at TD Securities.

Still, “there has been a strong comeback in crude prices and commodity companies are a benefactor of this,” said Issa.

Canada’s loonie /quotes/zigman/4867882/sampled USDCAD +0.19% rose 0.1% against its U.S. counterpart, with one U.S. dollar purchasing C$1.0246, down from C$1.0261 Tuesday.