Toronto stocks rallied Friday, rebounding from the previous session’s sharp retreat, helped by a $1.6 billion deal for miner Dynatec.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 90.01 points, or 0.7%, at 13,664.71.

The index ended up 0.6% on the week despite a 1% retreat on Thursday amid fears of an interest rate hike in China and a resulting weakening of demand for commodities.

The benchmark index is up 5.9% so far this year.

All but one of the 10 TSX main groups advanced, led by a 2.3% jump in the telecoms group, on continued takeover speculation over BCE. The information technology sector shed 0.2%.

BCE climbed $1.31, or 3.4%, to $39.75, making it the second most heavily traded stock on the TSX, on increased speculation over plans to take the telecom company private.

Sherritt International added to the merger buzz when it launched a friendly bid for Dynatec worth $1.6 billion before markets opened on Friday.

Shares of Sherritt slumped $2.12, or 12.4%, to $15.03 on fears the deal would be overly dilutive to its stock. Dynatec climbed 63¢, or 16.7%, to $4.41, and was the most heavily traded stock on the TSX with a volume of nearly 121 million shares.

Materials issues rose 0.3% amid firmness in metals prices. Barrick Gold rose 10¢, or 0.3%, to $32.55.

Energy issues gained as U.S. crude climbed 55 to settle at US$66.49 amid concerns that Nigeria’s presidential election this weekend could increase supply risks.

Suncor Energy rose $1.18, or 1.3%, to $91.50, while Canadian Natural Resources climbed 77¢, or 1.2%, to $66.35.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index gained 64.79 points to 3,361.41.

The Canadian dollar moved ahead 0.52 of a cent to a year to date high of US89.05¢.

Excluding auto sales, retail sales rose one per cent, mainly due to gains at gasoline stations and supermarkets.


In New York, markets jumped, with the Dow closing at a record high after coming within 35 points of 13,000, as Google and Caterpillar joined the list of companies reporting stronger-than-expected quarterly results.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 153.35 points, or 1.20%, to end at 12,961.98, its third straight record close.

The S&P was up 13.62 points, or 0.93%, at 1,484.35. The Nasdaq composite index was up 21.04 points, or 0.84%, at 2,526.39.

For the week, the Dow rose 2.8%, the S&P 500 was up 2.2% and Nasdaq was up 1.4%.