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The S&P 500 extended its rally to the longest since June, 2014, as benchmark indexes added to all-time highs, with health-care shares and consumer staples taking a turn pacing gains. Oil powered above $51 (U.S.) a barrel on signs producers are following through with agreed production cuts.

The post-election rally in American equities plowed ahead even as the Federal Reserve looks certain to raise interest rates next week. Makers of household products led gains Friday after lagging behind for much of the post-election rally that's added more than $1-trillion to the value of U.S. equities. Bank shares pushed gains in the past month to 18 per cent. U.S. crude rose before OPEC meets in Vienna with non-member representatives. The dollar headed toward an 18-month high, supported by wagers on higher rates.

Speculation that Donald Trump's policies will boost the economy enough to withstand the effects of higher interest rates lifted consumer confidence to the most in almost two years. At the same time, the European Central Bank's pledge to expand its limits on asset purchases to include shorter-dated securities is expected to drive down borrowing costs for banks even though the central bank has announced it will curtail monthly additions after March, and is being interpreted as a buy signal in many quarters of the financial markets.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 141.83 points, or 0.72 per cent, to 19,756.64, concluding a weekly gain of 3 per cent. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. pushed its gain since the Nov. 8 election to 33 per cent.

The S&P 500 gained 13.34 points, or 0.59 percent, to 2,259.53, to cap a 3-per-cent rally in the week. The gauge closed at a record and is up 5.3 per cent since the Nov. 8 election. The Nasdaq Composite added 27.14 points, or 0.5 percent, to 5,444.50.

In Canada, the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index extended a 19-month high as it rose 17.00 points, or 0.11 percent, to 15,312.20, notching a 1.7-per-cent gain on the week. It touched its highest intraday since May, 2015 at 15,339.04. Healthcare stocks gained 1.6 per cent while consumer staples add 0.7 per cent and utilities were up 0.5 per cent. Materials stocks fell 2.5 per cent.

Ivanhoe Mines gained 16.6 per cent, Bank of Montreal was up 1 per cent, and Royal Bank of Canada added 0.9 per cent.

The S&P 500 stock index's strongest sectors were consumer staples and healthcare, which have been two of the weakest in the rally that followed the Nov. 8 presidential election.

"Today we're seeing money going into some of the lesser loved sectors since the election, which is telling me the rally is broadening which is a very positive sign," Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab in Austin, Texas.

While some investment managers may be taking their profits others who did not trust the post-election rally would last are likely now hoping to show gains on their books for the year-end by picking up sectors that look less expensive.

"It means there's still new money coming in. People are worried about getting left behind at this point," he said.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude advanced 1.3 per cent to settle at $51.50 a barrel, the highest close since Monday.

Russia will seek discussions at its Saturday meeting with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries about how the group will fully comply with production cuts, said a government official. The Kremlin sees a higher risk that OPEC might fall short of this commitment after the November output increase, the official said, asking not to be identified in line with government policy.

Nickel climbed 2.8 per cent to $11,415 a metric ton, paring a weekly decline as metals rebound in London after China's factory-gate inflation rose to the highest since 2011.

Copper and zinc both gained 1 per cent. Gold fell 0.5 per cent to $1,164.75 an ounce.

The U.S. dollar advanced 0.6 per cent to $1.0557 per euro, having jumped 1.3 per cent on Thursday.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the greenback against 10 major peers, was up 0.4 per cent after gaining 0.5 per cent on Thursday.

The Canadian dollar was trading at 75.82 cents (U.S.), up 0.08.

Investors see a 100 per cent probability of an increase in U.S. interest rates on Dec. 14, according to pricing in federal funds futures contracts.

(Bloomberg News, Reuters)

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