* TSX rises 1.49 percent to 9,891.93
* Financials lead TSX higher, follow U.S. banks
(Adds details, quote)
By Ka Yan Ng
TORONTO, July 13 (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock index
bounced back from a big decline to finish 1.49 percent higher
on Monday with financial shares leading the charge after a
prominent U.S. banking analyst upgraded Goldman Sachs Group Inc
(GS.N).
The financials sector, which accounts for about a third of
the TSX index weighting, climbed 2.7 percent after analyst
Meredith Whitney upgraded Goldman to a "buy" rating.
[ID:nBNG121776]
"Meredith Whitney seems to be the financial analyst that
people pay attention to," said Steve Ibel, institutional
equities trader at Beacon Securities in Halifax. "It will give
the market a bit of a lift in the financial sector. But it
probably will be a one-day event."
Four of the top five heavyweight advancers were from the
financial group, led by Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO), up 3.04
percent at C$46.50.
Manulife Financial (MFC.TO) followed, up 4.2 percent at
C$20.03, while Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) rose 2.52 percent
to C$41.49, and Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) was up 2.2
percent at C$58.05.
The S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE closed up 144.80
points, or 1.49 percent, at 9,891.93. Earlier in the day it
fell more than 1 percent.
All 10 main groups were higher. The financial sector's
gains paled in comparison with those of its U.S. counterpart,
but it made a strong attempt to catch up and vaulted more than
1 percent higher late in the session.
"The U.S. financials are on fire. Our financials are up,
but nothing to what we're seeing in the States," said Francis
Campeau, broker at MF Global Canada in Montreal.
U.S. stocks rallied more than 2 percent as bullish comments
on financial sector performance lifted hopes that U.S. banks'
quarterly results may be stronger than expected.
[ID:nN13205956]
Most sectors accelerated gains late in the session and some
turned positive in the closing minutes. The energy group rose
1.28 percent, despite oil prices that briefly dropped to
two-month lows. [ID:nSYD73698]
The materials group, home to mining stocks, turned higher
as gold futures rallied above $920 an ounce in a technical
rally. [ID:nLD600919] The sector rose 1.07 percent.
Fertilizer producer Potash Corp (POT.TO) was one of the
biggest drags on the index, limiting gains in the materials
group.
Potash Corp fell 1.1 percent to C$98.05 after the head of
India's IFFCO, a farmer fertilizer cooperative, said that three
international companies have agreed to supply Indian buyers
with potash well below current spot market prices.
[ID:nBNG121776]
A brighter Canadian business outlook in a pair surveys by
the Bank of Canada helped to push the Canadian dollar about 1
percent higher versus the U.S. dollar, which in turn also gave
a lift to the TSX.
The surveys reinforced other data suggesting the recession
may have hit bottom, and that companies may face fewer hurdles
in getting financing in coming quarters. [ID:nN13381629]
($1=$1.15 Canadian)
(Additional reporting by Nina Lex; editing by Peter Galloway)
