A sign board displaying Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) stock information is seen in Toronto June 23, 2014.MARK BLINCH/Reuters
Canada's main stock index opened higher on Wednesday, driven by the health care sector and consumer stapes.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 39.13 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 13,442.55.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals Inc. rose 1.86 per cent, or $2.15, to $117.50 in early trading.
American financial markets are closed Thursday for Thanksgiving. Markets will re-open on Friday for a half-day of trading.
Signs China is moving to prop up metals prices boosted aluminum to zinc, helping to fuel a second day of gains in European equities.
Copper jumped as much as 4.2 per cent and aluminum rose the most since early October, pushing up miners on the Stoxx Europe 600 Index for the first time in five days. Automakers led the gauge higher as the euro slipped toward a seven-month low, boosting export prospects. While emerging-market stocks climbed for the first time this week, rising metals prices failed to support currencies of raw-material-producing nations.
China is stepping up to support metals amid a slump that saw the Bloomberg Commodity Index end last week at the lowest since 1999. The country's largest copper and nickel suppliers plan to meet this week to weigh their response to the rout, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Authorities are said to be considering state purchases to support the market as well as probing short-sellers.
"We believe metals have bottomed out," John Meyer, an analyst at SP Angel in London, said. "We are optimistic for a restart of infrastructure projects in China and the benefits of fiscal improvements feeding through. We're looking forward to some recovery next year."
Aluminum rose 2.2 per cent to $1,492 a ton at 2:36 p.m. London time, the biggest advance since Oct. 9, and zinc gained 2 per cent. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.8 per cent, after jumping 1.4 percent on Wednesday.
Nickel climbed for a third day, gaining as much as 4.7 per cent to $9,330 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange and rallying from near its lowest price in more than a decade. Copper, zinc and aluminum rose to the highest in at least a week.
The LME index of six base metals has dropped 27 per cent this year, the worst annual loss since the global financial crisis, amid the slowest growth in a quarter of a century in China. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said this month recent output cuts weren't large enough to rescue prices and a significant increase in Chinese demand was needed.
West Texas Intermediate oil declined 0.7 per cent to $42.75 a barrel, paring its advance this week to 5.9 per cent. While U.S. data Wednesday showed an increase in oil stockpiles, a report from Baker Hughes Inc. indicated the number of active oil rigs fell to 555, the least in five years.
The Stoxx 600 extended its biggest rebound in a week. Glencore Plc climbed 4.9 per cent, while Volkswagen AG's 4.1-per-cent gain was its 10th successive advance. The volume of Stoxx 600 shares changing hands was 30 per cent lower than the 30-day average. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.4 per cent, after sinking Wednesday to its lowest level since Nov. 18.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index gained 0.2 per cent, with benchmark gauges in South Korea and Taiwan climbing more than 1 per cent as technology shares advanced. Mining stocks led Russia's Micex Index higher.
With files from The Canadian Press and Bloomberg News