* TSX up 173.17 points, or 1.26 percent, at 13,962.80
* All 10 of the index’s main groups higher
By Solarina Ho
TORONTO, March 21 (Reuters) - Toronto’s main stock index jumped more than 1 percent on Monday morning with energy stocks, powered by higher oil prices, leading a broad rally.
Oil and gas shares, which make up more than a quarter of the index, were up 1.61 percent. Suncor Energy (SU.TO) climbed 1.39 percent to C$43.70, while Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) rose 1.67 percent to C$48.61. Talisman Energy TLM.TO was up 2.79 percent at C$24.30. .
Oil prices climbed more than $2 a barrel on Monday as United Nations-mandated airstrikes on Libya and unrest in the Middle East fueled concerns about oil supply in the region. [O/R]
“We were in a bull market until the Middle East situation arose ... and the Japanese tsunami hit,” said Ian Nakamoto, director of research at MacDougall, MacDougall & MacTier.
“But we’re getting back on the movement up here. Global growth continues to point up.”
Buoying sentiment were hopes that the worst of Japan’s nuclear crisis may be over. [ID:nL3E7EK08V]
At 10:21 a.m. (1421 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE was up 173.17 points, or 1.26 percent, at 13,962.80.
All 10 of its main groups were in positive territory, with six of them up more than 1 percent.
Financial stocks, which make up nearly 30 percent of the TSX, climbed 1.23 percent. Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) led with a 1.05 percent rise to C$59.79, followed by Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO), which advanced 1.09 percent to C$83.75. Manulife Financial (MFC.TO) climbed 2.02 percent to C$17.16.
“Many of these banks have really recovered and the payout ratio is really low,” Nakamoto said, attributing the banks’ rise to a spillover of sentiment from the United States.
Last week, major U.S. banks said they plan to boost their dividend payments after passing stress tests evaluated by the U.S. Federal Reserve. [ID:nN18249036]
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up1.74 percent at 12,032.55 on Monday morning, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index .SPX was up 1.63 percent at 1,300.04, and the Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up 1.94 percent at 2,694.84.
($1=$0.98 Canadian) (Editing by Peter Galloway)
