MW: Precious metals rally leads Canadian stocks higher
By Nicole Hong
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Canadian stocks jumped into positive territory on Friday as commodities prices rallied on increased investor optimism over this weekend's European Union summit. At last check, the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index CA:$ISPTX +1.34% was up 154.85 points, or 1.3%, at 11,985.18. Prices of gold, silver and copper soared early Friday, leading Toronto's mining stocks to the top of the index. Shares of First Quantum Minerals Ltd. CA:FM +6.11% picked up 5.5% while shares of Teck Resources Ltd. CA:TCK.B +3.48% added 2.8%. Among the few decliners, shares of Air Canada CA:AC.B -0.73% dipped 1.5% after Canada's largest airline and its flight attendants' union agreed to avoid a strike on Thursday. The Canadian dollar gained nearly 1% against its U.S. counterpart USDCAD -0.74% , with one U.S. dollar recently purchasing 1.0078 Canadian, versus 1.0167 late Thursday.
