(Adds portfolio manager quotes, details on cuts to oil sands
crude capacity, Enbridge , updates prices)
* TSX closed up 69.46 points, or 0.51 percent, at 13,701.47
* Index fell 1.8 percent for the week
* Seven of the TSX's 10 main groups ended higher
By Fergal Smith
TORONTO, May 6 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on
Friday as gold shares rallied after data tempered Federal
Reserve rate hike expectations, while energy stocks also gained
after oil prices turned higher.
The most influential movers on the index included Barrick
Gold Corp ABX.TO , which rose 3.6 percent to C$23.83, and
Goldcorp Inc G.TO , which advanced 2.8 percent to C$24.78.
Spot gold XAU= rose 0.8 percent after weaker-than-expected
U.S. jobs data boosted expectations the Fed will delay further
interest rate increases. GOL/
About one-third of Canada's daily oil sands crude capacity
was knocked out and some pipelines were closed as a wildfire
ravaged the oil town of Fort McMurray in Alberta. However,
production facilities have not been in the fire's path.
"If they control the fire they should be able to get people
up there to run those facilities and get that stuff online
again," said Manash Goswami, portfolio manager at First Asset
Investment Management Inc.
Suncor Energy Inc SU.TO , which cut production this week
due to the wildfire, snapped a five-day losing run. Its shares
rose 2.1 percent to C$33.84.
Enbridge Inc ENB.TO shares rose 0.7 percent to C$50.69.
The company filed a request with Canada's national energy
regulator for an extension of its permit for the proposed
Northern Gateway project.
The energy group rose 0.9 percent as oil prices turned
higher. U.S. crude futures CLc1 settled at $44.66 a barrel, up
0.77 percent. O/R
Still, production cuts due to the wildfire may stall
Canadian growth in the second quarter, economists warned.
Shares of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc SNC.TO rose 7.2 percent to
C$48.97. The engineering and construction company reported on
Thursday a higher-than-expected first-quarter profit.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index
.GSPTSE closed up 69.46 points, or 0.51 percent, at 13,701.47.
Seven of the index's 10 main groups ended higher.
However, it fell 1.8 percent for the week after having
touched a six-month high last Friday at 13,972.62.
Slower revenue and earnings growth and weaker economic data
may be challenging for the market, said Goswami, who expects the
index to pull back further before turning bullish.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc (NYSE:VRX) VRX.TO fell 13.3
percent to C$38.58. The company said on Thursday it has formed a
new committee to review its drug pricing.
The Canadian labor market stalled in April as the
oil-producing province of Alberta shed more jobs in the natural
resource sector.