Aniket Pujari(Updates at market close)
March 17 (Reuters) – Canada’s main stock index rallied for a second straight day on Monday as some investors took the view that the recent selloff in the market was a buying opportunity, with energy and metal mining shares leading broad-based gains.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index ended up 231.71 points, or 0.9%, at 24,785.11, extending its rebound from a four-and-a-half-month low on Thursday.
“We got quite oversold,” said Stan Wong, portfolio manager at Scotia Wealth Management. “Not too surprised that we have a little bit of a reprieve in the markets.”
Wall Street also rallied as investors assessed the latest economic data to gauge the impact of the Trump administration’s policies.
U.S. tariff hikes will drag down growth in Canada, Mexico and the United States while driving up inflation, the OECD forecast.
If additional “tariff talk comes out of the U.S. that might slow us down a little bit but really I see the recent volatility more as an opportunity rather than as an obstacle,” Wong said.
The energy sector rose 1.5% as the price of oil settled 0.6% higher at $67.58 a barrel.
Supportive of oil, the U.S. vowed to keep attacking Yemen’s Houthis until the Iran-aligned group ends its assaults on shipping, while Chinese economic data buoyed hopes for higher demand.
TerraVest Industries Inc shares jumped 20.5% after the home heating product manufacturer announced the acquisition of EnTrans International.
The materials sector, which includes fertilizer companies and metal mining shares, added 1.8%, as gold and copper prices climbed.
All ten major sectors ended higher, with heavily weighted financials gaining 1.1%. (Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto and Nikhil Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri, Leroy Leo and Deepa Babingtong)
