TSX hits near one-month high as data buoys resources

By John Tilak

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index hit a near one-month high on Wednesday as positive data out of China and Germany lifted hopes for a strong global economic recovery and boosted commodities shares.

China's exports and imports grew more than expected in April, offering the possibility of a better outlook for the world's second-largest economy, while German industrial output unexpectedly jumped in March.

The resource-sensitive Toronto index tends to react sharply to developments in China, a big consumer of commodities from Canada, because of its large exposure to materials and energy stocks.

The market's gains, led by gold and energy producers, extended into the fifth straight session. The TSX has risen nearly 1 percent on the year, recovering from a massive commodity-led selloff last month while still trailing growth at major indices like the S&P 500 <.spx>.

"Equities are benefiting from a ?Goldilocks environment'," said Stan Wong, vice president and portfolio manager at Macquarie Private Wealth.

"The economies are not too hot to stop the monetary easing policies of the central banks and not too cold to cause corporate earnings to slip into negative territory," he said.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index <.gsptse> was up 69.50 points, or 0.56 percent, at 12,533.61. It earlier reached 12,551.08, its highest point since April 10.

Six of the 10 main sectors on the index were higher.

The materials sector, which includes mining stocks, rose 2.2 percent, helped by higher gold shares. The price of bullion rose more than 1 percent, thanks to a weaker dollar and robust physical demand.

"We're seeing a reflex bounce from the capitulation several weeks ago," Wong said, referring to strength in gold shares and the price of the commodity. "We'll probably not see much more than that."

Oil prices rose as well and helped fuel a 0.7 percent rise in shares of energy companies.

Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, gained 0.2 percent.

In company news, Tim Hortons Inc named a new chief executive and reported a 3 percent fall in first-quarter profit. The stock lost 3 percent to C$56.86.

Quebecor Inc fell nearly 4 percent after the media and telecommunications company's first-quarter profit halved due to higher costs, a sharp drop in media revenue and lower gains on financial instruments.

(Editing by Andrew Hay)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tsx-rises-resources-positive-data-boosts-133932642.html

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