(Adds advisor comment, updates prices to close)
* TSX ends up 121.75 points, or 0.95 percent, to 12,982.10
* Nine of the TSX's 10 main groups rise
By Alastair Sharp
TORONTO, March 1 (Reuters) - Canada's benchmark stock index
rose on Tuesday, led by financial shares after the country's
third largest bank reported a rise in quarterly profit, while
domestic data revealed the economy grew more than expected in
the fourth quarter.
Bank of Nova Scotia BNS.TO jumped 5.8 percent to C$57.93
as the last of Canada's main banks to report quarterly earnings
notched a 5 percent increase in net income and raised its
dividend.
Royal Bank of Canada RY.TO added 1.6 percent to C$70.14,
while Toronto-Dominion Bank TD.TO was up 1.7 percent at
C$53.34. The overall financials group gained 2.2 percent.
"Everyone was predicting doom and gloom for the banks and
look at them, four of the five raised dividends," said Allan
Small, a senior investment advisor at HollisWealth.
"Yes, their loan loss provision are higher, but you've got
to expect that," he said, noting that he added to positions in
financials amid recent stock price weakness.
The energy sector gained 2 percent, in line with a move
higher in oil prices. Suncor Energy Inc SU.TO rose 1.6 percent
to C$33.62 O/R
TransCanada Corp TRP.TO fell 0.8 percent to C$49.27 after
Quebec said it was seeking an injunction to compel the company's
proposed Energy East oil pipeline to be reviewed under the
province's environmental laws.
Maple Leaf Foods Inc MFI.TO jumped more than 8 percent to
C$24.65 after the Canadian pork processor beat profit
expectations on improved margins in its prepared meats business.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index
.GSPTSE added 121.75 points, or 0.95 percent, to 12,982.10.
Nine of the index's 10 main groups ended higher.
The materials group, which includes precious and base metals
miners and fertilizer companies, lost 1.6 percent, including a
5.2 percent drop in Barrick Gold Corp ABX.TO to C$17.82.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc (NYSE:VRX) VRX.TO was the
biggest drag on the index for a second consecutive day. It said
on Monday it is under investigation by the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission.
The company's shares fell 6.9 percent to C$87.94, after
hitting its lowest since May 2013 at C$80.38.
The Canadian economy slowed substantially in the final
quarter of last year, but the 0.8 percent annualized increase in
gross domestic product topped both economists' and policymakers'
expectations for zero growth.