TSX Ends Nearly 10% Up As Stocks Rebound After Recent Setbacks

(RTTNews) - Canadian shares rallied sharply on Friday, staging a strong comeback after having suffered a terrible setback a session earlier.

Bargain hunting and expectations that global central banks will announce more stimulus to fight the impact of the coronavirus outbreak and help lift sagging economies drove stock prices up in Friday's session.

In a significant move, the Bank of Canada today announced an unexpected rate cut, reducing its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 0.75%.

The central bank had cut its rate to 1.25% on March 4 to help counter the impact of the coronavirus.

"This unscheduled rate decision is a proactive measure taken in light of the negative shocks to Canada's economy arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent sharp drop in oil prices," the bank said.

This is the first time the central bank has announced a rate decision outside of a scheduled meeting since the financial crisis in 2009.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which pared most of its gains after a buoyant start, kept surging higher post noon and rallied sharply in the final hour, to end with a whopping gain of 1,207.88 points, or 9.66%, at 13,716.33.

The Canadian stock market had ended at its lowest level in about four years on Thursday, and recorded its worst single-session drop since May 1940, as it plunged 12.34%. The index shed 14.5% in the week.

Except stocks from the materials space, which tumbled after gold prices plunged sharply, stocks from all other sectors posted strong gains in today's session.

Financial shares were the big gainers, and mirroring their surge, the Capped Financial index surged up 14.95%. The Capped Telecom Services Index rose 10.9%, while the Energy and Consumer Staples indices gained 10.59% and 10.5%, respectively.

Enbridge Inc. (ENB.TO), TC Energy (TRP.TO), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO), Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO), Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO), Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) and Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) gained 15 to 20.7%.

Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO), Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO), Husky Energy (HSE.TO), Manulife Financial Corporation (MFC.TO), Pembina Pipeline Corporation (PPL.TO), BCE Inc. (BCE.TO), ARC Resources (ARX.TO), Suncor Energy (SU.TO) and Whitecap Resources (WCP.TO) also losted hefty gains.

Kinross Gold Corporation (K.TO), B2Gold Corp (BTO.TO) and Barrick Gold Corporation (ABX.TO) declined 15.3%, 10.75% and 6.9%, respectively.

U.S. stocks ended with big gains on Friday, a day after witnessing the worst drop in over thirty years.

The major averages spiked going into the close of trading, ending the session at their best levels of the day. The Dow soared 9.4%, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 both climbed up 9.3%.

The late-day spike on Wall Street came after President Donald Trump declared the coronavirus outbreak a national emergency. The declaration by Trump would free up as much as $50 billion in additional funding to combat the outbreak and allow officials to waive certain regulations to accelerate testing and care for coronavirus patients.

Markets across Europe closed with strong gains, while Asian markets moved mostly lower.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for April ended up $0.23, or about 0.7%, at $31.73 a barrel, after rising to a high of $33.87 in the session.

Gold futures for April ended down $73.60, or about 4.6%, at $1,516.70 an ounce. The contract lost about 9.3% in the week, the biggest weekly loss in more than eight years.

Silver futures for May ended down $1.505 at $14.500 an ounce, while Copper futures for May settled at $2.4640 per pound, down $0.0085 from previous close.