Source: Bloomberg
Canadian Stocks Advance After Global Manufacturing Data Improve

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By Matt Walcoff - Jan 4, 2012 5:51 AM GMT+0800Tue Jan 03 21:51:22 GMT

Canadian stocks (SPTSX) rose the most since Nov. 30 as oil and metals gained after indexes of U.S., U.K. and Chinese manufacturing surpassed most economist forecasts and German unemployment fell to a 20-year low.

Suncor Energy Inc. (SU), Canada’s largest oil and gas producer, increased 5.5 percent as crude futures advanced after Iran said it produced its first nuclear fuel rod. Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX), the world’s biggest gold producer, climbed 4.5 percent as the U.S. Dollar Index declined the most in a month. Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., the world’s biggest fertilizer producer by market value, rallied 5.1 percent after an analyst at Susquehanna Financial Group raised his rating (POT) on the shares.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index (SPTSX) rose 253.34 points, or 2.1 percent, to 12,208.43, the highest close since Nov. 15.

“Manufacturing globally looks like it’s picking up,”Jennifer Radman, a money manager at Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. in Toronto, said in a telephone interview. The firm oversees about C$1 billion ($991 million). “As we get more comfortable the world isn’t going to fall apart, investors will increasingly be tolerant of taking on more risk in their portfolios.”

Canada’s benchmark index retreated 11 percent (SPTSX) in 2011, led by raw-materials and energy producers, on concern the European debt crisis will hamper global growth. The two industries make up 47 percent of Canadian stocks (SPTSX) by market value, according to Bloomberg data.