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Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Feb. 12.Brendan McDermid/Reuters

Canadian stocks rose for the first time in six days on Friday, as energy and financial companies rallied amid surging oil prices and easing concerns about the global economy.

The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index gained 293.87 points, or 2.43 per cent, to 12,381.24  in Toronto, as all of the 10 main industry groups advanced. The index had lost 5.4 per cent in five days before the rally, pushing it to its lowest level in three weeks. Even after decline of 5 per cent in 2016, the S&P/TSX is the best-performing developed market in the world, after being among the worst in the past year.

Canadian shares joined a rally in equities worldwide on Friday, as U.S. stocks advanced after a report showed the country's retail sales increased for a third straight month in January.

Oil surged the most seven years as equities rebounded and the United Arab Emirates oil minister reiterated OPEC's willingness to engage with other producers.

West Texas Intermediate futures rose 12 per cent after settling at the lowest since May 2003. Producers are ready to work together and won't make cuts unless there's complete cooperation, UAE Oil Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei said on a Sky News Arabia report posted online Feb. 10. The rebound follows speculators' record short positions in WTI last month.

Energy companies benefited from the recovery in oil. Suncor Energy Inc. and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. both added more than 3.9 per cent. Pengrowth Energy Corp. jumped 10.6 per cent.

Banks, which have been the biggest source of pain for Canadian stocks in the market's latest rout, jumped 3.6 per cent. Royal Bank of Canada jumped 4.6 per cent, while Toronto-Dominion Bank gained 3.7 per cent.

Brookfield Asset Management Inc. rallied 4.5 per cent. Canada's largest alternative asset manager said funds from operations grew 83 per cent during the quarter from a year ago, while also saying net income fell 30 percent.

Bombardier Inc. jumped 3.9 per cent after the troubled aircraft maker won a contract with Alberta Transit valued at about $391-million.

Health-care stocks also surged, advancing 3.3 per cent. Concordia Healthcare Corp. and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International both gained more than 5.4 per cent.

Other prominent risers on the day were Teck Resources Ltd., up 24.3 per cent, and First Quantum Minerals Ltd., which rose 11.9 per cent.

U.S. stocks advanced, with the Standard & Poor's 500 Index snapping its longest losing streak since September, as crude prices rebounded and data showed retail sales increased for a third month in January.

Financial, raw-material and energy stocks led the the S&P 500 higher, as the benchmark gauge added 1.95 per cent to 1,864.78 p.m. in New York. The measure retreated for the fifth straight day Thursday, closing 14 per cent below its all-time high set in May and near its lowest level in two years. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 313.45 points, or 2 per cent, to 15,973.63, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 70.68 points, or 1.66 per cent, to 4,337.51.

Data on Friday also showed consumer sentiment declined in February to a four-month low as declining stock prices and weaker global conditions weighed on Americans' views of the economy. Investors are monitoring economic reports after a tumultuous week in U.S. equities. Concerns over everything from slowing growth in China, plunging crude prices to the pace of the Federal Reserve's interest-rate hikes have sparked a flight out of risky assets, sending global equities lower yesterday to a level that constitutes a bear market.

"Everyone is looking for a time to buy," said Phillip Titzer, who helps oversee about $1.4-billion as vice president of investment operations at Edgar Lomax Co. in Springfield, Virginia. "This might just be some investing of some cash with people thinking prices look good now. Oil is up and so many times we see oil go up and stocks go up."

Even with the rebound, U.S. stocks finished with a second week of declines, losing 1 per cent since Feb. 5. This is the fifth Friday in a row the S&P 500 has swung 1.5 per cent or more. Such a stretch of volatility on the last day of the week has only occurred two other times since the Great Depression -- in November 2008 and November 1990.

Banks, which have been the biggest source of pain for U.S. stocks in the market's latest rout, led gains, capping the steepest rally since November 2011. JPMorgan Chase added 8.3 per cent, the most since 2011, after Dimon spent $26.6 million on shares. Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. also climbed at least 3.9 per cent. Energy stocks also rallied. Kinder Morgan Inc. and Transocean Ltd. climbed more than 2.9 per cent.

The U.S. and Canadian stock markets will be shut Monday, while markets in mainland China are set to reopen after the Lunar New Year holiday.

Emerging-market assets stabilized, with the oil rebound and data showing the euro-area's economy expanded at the end of 2015 helping ease the worst week in a month. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index was little changed. It fell 3.6 per cent in the week.

The index has dropped 10 pe rcent this year and is valued at 10.7 times estimated 12-month earnings, compared with 14 for the MSCI World Index of developed markets, which dropped 12 percent in 2016.

A Bloomberg gauge tracking 20 developing-nation exchange rates against the dollar increased 0.3 per cent from a one-week low.

West Texas Intermediate oil for March delivery rose $3.23 to settle at $29.44 a barrel at on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It's the biggest increase since February 2009.

Brent for April settlement gained $3.17, or 11 per cent, to $33.23 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.

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