The Toronto Stock Exchange saw a fourth straight day of gains Tuesday -- its longest streak since April -- as oil and gas prices were up and there were reports of new products in the works by Research In Motion Ltd.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 240.20 points, or 2.06%, to 11.907.54, led by energy, materials and financials. Tuesday's rise, the biggest since May 10, was enough to bring the TSX into slightly positive territory for the year so far.
Crude oil in New York rose $1.82 to US$76.94 a barrel, as economists anticipated confirmation Wednesday that U.S. stockpiles of oil declined for a third straight week. As well, natural gas was up 18¢ to US$5.19 per million units as forecasts for hot weather in parts of the U.S. next week suggest higher use of electricity.
Suncor Energy Inc. was up 2.89%, to $34.48, while Talisman Energy Inc. gained 2.58% to $18.26.
Canadian technology giant RIM was up 5.15%, to $64.49, after reports emerged that it is working on a tablet device to accompany its BlackBerry smartphones, as well as a new version of the latter that features a touch screen and pullout keyboard.
The Canadian dollar was up 70 basis points to US97.55¢, as gold closed up $9.90 to US$1,233.20 an ounce.
The junior TSX Venture composite rose 8.73 points, or 0.60%, to 1,416.51.
The gains on Bay Street came despite some disappointing data concerning Canada's worker productivity in the first quarter and manufacturing sales in April -- gains for which both fell short of expectations.
"Over the last few sessions, it has become increasingly clear that the sense of fear that had been clouding over markets in recent weeks has been dissipating and that confidence has been starting to resume," Colin Cieszynski, analyst with CMC Markets Canada, said in a research note. "While this could be viewed as a common trading bounce in a quiet period for economic and corporate news, what has been most interesting is that markets have been turning around despite some negative news developments."
U.S. markets were up after the Federal Reserve Bank economic index showed expansion of manufacturing in and around New York state in June for the 11th straight month. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 213.88 points, or 2.10%, to 10,404.77. The Nasdaq composite index was ahead by 61.92 points, or 2.76%, to 2,305.88.
Markets in Europe and Asia were also mostly higher Tuesday, despite a poll showing a decline in investor confidence in Germany this month and a downgrade of Greece's credit rating to junk status by Moody's Investors Service on Monday.
