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TSX ends up 131.71 points, or 0.7%, at 19,519.43
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Energy rises 2.9%; oil settles 1.4% higher
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Financials add 0.5%
(Adds details throughout; updates prices to close)
By Johann M Cherian and Fergal Smith
March 20 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on
Monday, helped by gains for resource and financial shares, as
some calm returned to financial markets after recent turmoil in
the banking sector.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended up 131.71 points, or 0.7%, at 19,519.43,
preliminary data showed.
U.S. stocks were also higher on hopes that UBS Group AG's takeover of Credit Suisse Group AG would avert
a wider banking crisis and as investors weighed the likelihood
of a pause in interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve this
week.
"The TSX is heavily weighted in banks and today it looks
like there's some stabilization in the banking sector, at least
initially, based on UBS buying Credit Suisse," said Allan Small,
senior investment advisor at Allan Small Financial Group.
The financial sector , which accounts for nearly 30% of the TSX, added 0.5%. Energy was up 2.9% as oil rebounded from a 15-month low. U.S. crude oil futures settled 1.4% higher at $67.64 a barrel. The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, gained 0.8%. (Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai and David Gregorio)
