Canadian stock market moves higher over banks rally

Canada's main stock market in Toronto Thursday rose steadily for four days in a row as a rally in giant banks helped offset the slump in resources shares. Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index was higher 68.80 points or 0.47 percent to 14,731. 08 points, the fourth consecutive rise this week.

Resources shares tumbled for a second consecutive day with Energy down 0.35 percent and Metals and mining diving 2.54 percent when oil and gold prices were losing ground.

However, the losses were overpowered by non-resources stocks when the most influential sector Financials added 0.77 percent with a big rally in banks shares, after they digested the stimulus from the interest rate cut by Bank of Canada on Wednesday.

According to the central bank, its target for the overnight rate was lowered to 0.5 percent, when the Canadian economy is slowing down due to the negative influence of the oil prices plunge.

Canada's biggest bank Royal Bank of Canada rose 0.85 percent to 77.91 Canadian dollars (about 60.07 U.S. dollars) while Toronto- Dominion Bank, the second largest lender in Canada, rallied 1.12 percent to 53.30 Canadian dollars, and the third biggest lender Bank of Nova Scotia advanced 1.26 percent to 64.93 Canadian dollars.

Utilities, up 2.16 percent, logged the biggest increase once again Thursday when the gas and electricity distributor Fortis jumping 3.12 percent to 38.36 Canadian dollars.

In other gainers, Health Care climbed higher 0.89 percent while Industrials edged up 0.51 percent.

On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported that foreign investors reduced their holdings of Canadian securities by 5.4 billion Canadian dollars in May, led by a divestment in equities. Meanwhile, Canadian investors added 5.6 billion Canadian dollars of foreign securities to their portfolios, mainly corporate securities.

On the currency front, the Canadian dollar moved to its weakest level since Global Financial Crisis in 2009 after the central bank' s rate cut on Wednesday, it was still in the losing streak on Thursday to trade at 0.7710 U.S. dollar, when compared with 0.7740 U.S. dollar on Wednesday.

According to a report issued by Bank of Montreal on Thursday, " with a view to final trimester (U.S.) Fed tightening this year, unmatched by the Bank of Canada, we look for the currency to continue to depreciate."