Toronto stock market back in black but Canadian dollar stays below 70 cents U.S.

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TORONTO—The Toronto stock market bounced back into the black today after days of steep losses while the Canadian dollar weakened amid speculation that the Bank of Canada will cut its key interest rate next week.

The S&P/TSX composite index ended the day up 165.62 points at 12,336.03, though it remains beaten down from heavy losses suffered over the last two weeks, including a 200-point loss on Wednesday.

The loonie was locked below 70 cents U.S. all day, losing .08 of a cent to end trading at 69.63 cents U.S.

New York also rallied as the Dow Jones rose 227.64 points to close at 16,379.05, the S&P 500 added 31.56 points to 1,921.84 and the Nasdaq gained 88.94 points to close at 4,615.00.

Energy stocks were a source of strength as the February contract for benchmark crude oil rose 72 cents to settle at US$31.20 a barrel.

February natural gas declined 13 cents to US$2.139 per mmBtu and February gold lost $13.50 to US$1,073.60 an ounce.