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TORONTO, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Canada's main stock market in Toronto ended higher on Friday, as food retailers and copper price contributed to the result.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite gained 79.12 points, or 0.51 percent, to end the week at 15,497.28 points. Eight of the ten sub-sectors finished the day ahead.
Consumer Staples and Materials groups saw the biggest percentage gains on the day, rising 1.38 and 1.04, respectively.
The TSX Consumer Staples group, which is comprised of firms in the food sector, climbed after Nova-Scotia food retailer Empire Company Limited announced the immediate appointment of Michael Medline as President and CEO. As a result of the news, shares soared 7.66 percent to 16.72 Canadian dollars (12.74 U.S. dollars).
Also contributing to the group's growth on the day was Quebec-based convenient store franchise Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., which finished at 61.25 Canadian dollars (46.65 U.S. dollars) a share, a 3.01 percent increase.
The Materials group, which feature producers of gold, precious metals and raw materials, jumped as the spot price of copper edgted up 1.60 percent to 2.6667 U.S. dollars a pound. Shares of firms concentrated in mining copper surged on the day, as Vancouver-based Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. shares spiked 10.20 percent, while Toronto-based Lundin Mining Corporation saw a 5.22 percent ascent.
Spot price of gold ticked up 1.90 dollars to close at 1,196.90 U.S. dollars an ounce, while the same weight of silver rose 0.42 percent to 16.81 U.S. dollars.
Heavyweight Financials and Energy groups both finished the week with a 0.48 percent gain.
The TSX Financial group, which ranks first in the index by weight, rose after United States banks reported better than expected quarterly profits earlier in the day. Meanwhile, Manulife Financial Corporation, the country's largest insurance firm, saw a 0.41 percent uplift to close at 24.53 Canadian dollars (18.68 U.S. dollars) a share.
Energy group snapped a six-session losing streak despite the price of Brent crude oil delivery in March slipping 48 cents to 55.58 U.S. dollars a barrel. Calgary-based Canadian Natural Resources Limited and Husky Energy Inc. saw respective increases of 2.15 percent and 1.74 percent on the day.
Other groups to finish higher on Friday were Industrials (0.40 percent), Consumer Discretionary (0.38 percent), Information Technology (0.34 percent), and Utilities (0.04 percent).
On the losing side on Friday were Health Care and Telecommunications groups, fading 0.61 percent and 0.05 percent, respectively.
The Canadian dollar moved up for an eighth consecutive session, inching up 0.02 cents to extend a four-week high of 0.7617 U.S. dollars.
