Bay Street In Rally Mode, TSX Starts At 8-Week Peak -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks look set to open higher Friday, extending gains to a sixth successive session, buoyed by a Chinese interest rate cut and hopes of further stimulus from the European Central Bank.

Markets will assess an unexpected rise in Canadian consumer prices.

According to Statistics Canada, consumer price inflation rose to 2.4 percent in October, following a 2.0 percent increase in the preceding month. Economists expected inflation to come in at 2.0 percent.

Core CPI was up 2.3 percent last month, compared to 2.1 percent in September.

Energy stocks are likely to rise, tracking higher crude oil prices. Gold stocks may edge up as well on fairly steady bullion prices.

On Thursday, the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended up 95.03 points or 0.63 percent at 15,075.18, an eight-week high.

Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) is shutting down its international client-wealth-management business in the Caribbean. 300 jobs are expected to be cut.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (VRX.TO) said it has cut its stake in Allergan Inc to 0.1 percent from 9.7 percent.

In commodities, crude oil futures for January delivery are up $1.24 or 1.62 percent at $77.08 a barrel.

Natural gas for December is down $0.173 or 3.85 percent at $4.316 per million btu.

Gold futures for December are up $10.70 or 0.90 percent at $1,201.60 an ounce.

Silver for December is up $0.281 or 1.74 percent at $16.418 an ounce. Meanwhile, copper is up $0.033 or 1.09 percent at $3.053 per pound.

In a significant move, the People's Bank of China today cut its key lending rate by 0.4 percent to 5.6 percent, to spur economic growth. The deposit rate has been reduced by 0.25 percent to 2.75 percent.

Meanwhile, hopes of additional stimulus from the European Central Bank have increased after the bank's President Mario Draghi said the ECB will expand its asset purchase program if inflation fails to show signs of returning to the targeted level.