TSX posts 4 day advance

Photo: Contributed

The Toronto stock market posted its fourth consecutive big advance Wednesday amid continuing strength in the resource sectors.

At midafternoon, the S&P/TSX composite index was up 215.97 points at 13,863.23 on top of a cumulative advance of more than 400 points or some three per cent over the previous three trading days.

The heavily weighted energy sector was again among the leading advancers, up 2.97 per cent as the November contract for benchmark crude oil edged up six cents to US$48.59 a barrel.

The commodity has staged a strong comeback after slipping below US$45 a barrel last week. Elsewhere on commodity markets, November natural gas gained two cents to US$2.49 per thousand cubic feet, while December gold gained 2.90 to $1,149.30 an ounce and December copper added a penny to US$2.37 a pound.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 89.46 points to 16,879.65 after having been up more than 170 points in early trading. Meanwhile, the broader S&P 500 index gained 14.32 points to 1,994.24 and Nasdaq rose 36.76 points to 4,785.12.

The Canadian dollar was up 0.04 of a U.S. cent at 76.72 cents US.

In corporate news, Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. announced it was adopting a poison pill defence plan in the face of a hostile takeover offer from oilsands giant Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU).

The new shareholder rights plan could be triggered if anyone buys 20 per cent or more of COS (TSX:COS) outstanding shares. At that point other shareholders would be able to buy stock at a discount, making the acquisition less attractive to the hostile bidder.

On the Toronto Stock Exchange, COS shares were up 23 cents or 2.48 per cent at $9.51, while Suncor traded 46 cents higher at $35.33.