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TSX ends up 0.9%, at 20,278.28
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Energy rallies 5.4%; oil settled 5.3% higher
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Teck Resources shares jump 18.7% as company rejects buyout
(Adds investor quotes and details on activity)
By Fergal Smith
April 3 (Reuters) - Canada's commodity-heavy main stock
index rose on Monday to its highest closing level in nearly four
weeks as a surge in oil prices boosted energy shares and Teck
Resources rejected a buyout offer from Glencore.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended up 178.39 points, or 0.9%, at 20,278.28, its
seventh straight day of gains and its highest closing level
since March 8.
There were a number of "obvious" catalysts for the rally
including the move by OPEC, said Matt Skipp, president of SW8
Asset Management.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies jolted markets with plans to cut more production, driving the price of oil 6.3% higher. Energy, which accounts for about 19% of the Toronto market's market capitalization, rose 5.4%, while the materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 2.2% as gold prices rose and after the shares of Teck Resources Ltd soared 18.7% The copper and zinc miner rejected an unsolicited $22.5 billion bid from Glencore Plc , citing a reluctance to expose its shareholders to thermal coal, oil, LNG and related sectors. Financials also gained ground, rising 0.7%. The sector was pressured in March by turmoil in the global banking sector . "I don't think that's played out," Skipp said. "I think there's a structural problem at the moment in the U.S., and it is going to bleed into Canada to some extent."
Bucking the trend, the tech sector dropped 0.7% and utilities ended 0.9% lower. (Reporting by Fergal Smith; Additional reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Sandra Maler)
