TSX Surges Higher By Nearly 100 points, led by financials -- ...

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(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks staged a dramatic turnaround onTuesday, rallying back from steep losses to finish the sessionsharply higher. Bargain hunters swooped in to pick up deeplydiscounted stocks, particularly in the industrial and technologysectors. Financials gave Toronto's main index a big boostthroughout the session amid renewed hopes that the worst of thecredit crisis may be over.
Despite another round of significant losses in the mining andenergy sectors, the S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 96.97 pointsto 13,809.77, paring some of Monday's nearly 300 point drop. Withthe advance, the composite improved from the previous session's2-month closing low.
Signaling a return to normalcy for the credit markets, the Bank ofCanada announced Tuesday that it was ending its $1 billion "termpurchase and resale agreement" set to expire July 10. The BoCclosed an additional $1 billion credit line on June 23.
"This decision reflects the continuing improvement in marketconditions since the end of April, including funding conditions outthree months," the Bank of Canada said in its statement.
South of the border, Fed Chair Ben Bernanke announced that, inorder to ensure that short-term funding markets continue toimprove, he is considering extending the duration of emergency loanfacilities past their scheduled termination at the end of the year.
Canadian financial stocks responded favorably, rising 2 percent.National Bank (NA.TO) added 3.5 percent, while Bank of Montreal(BMO.TO) picked up 3.3 percent.
On the flip side, energy stocks dropped 1.3 percent, but managed tomove well off their early lows with a late-day push.
Oil added to its sharp decline on Tuesday as traders cashed inprofits from last week's climb to record levels. Light sweet crudefor August delivery closed at $136.04, down $5.33 for the session.Oil touched as low as $135.14, its lowest mark intraday since June26.
Miners suffered another big sell-off on speculation that a globaleconomic slowdown could destroy demand for Canadian resources. TheDiversified Metals and Mining Index dropped 2.5 percent, withThompson Creek Metals (TCM.TO) and Equinox Minerals (EQN.TO)extending their huge losses from the previous session.
Tech stocks surged higher by 4.4 percent. Research in Motion(RIM.TO) skyrocketed higher by 5.6 percent, with most of its gainscoming in late day trading. Nortel Networks (NT.TO) picked up 5.4percent.
In corporate news, fertilizer producer Agrium Inc. (AGU.TO)announced that it has concluded the purchase of a 70% equityposition in Common Market Fertilizers S.A., one of Western Europe'sfertilizer distribution companies. Agrium shares fell 1.4 percent.
Burdened by its investment in Rite Aid Corp., drug store operatorJean Coutu Group (PJC.TO) said Tuesday morning that its firstquarter loss widened to 8 cents a share from 2 cents a year ago.Coutu stock rose 3.9 percent.
WestJet (WJA.TO) said Tuesday that it has signed a memorandum ofunderstanding to build a distribution and codeshare agreement withSouthwest Airlines (LUV). This memorandum of understanding is thefirst step that will see both airlines, by late 2009, have theability to commence codeshare flights across both networks. WestJetshares soared 11.1 percent.
Also in the industrial sector, both of Canada's major railroads, CNRail (CNR.TO) and Canadian Pacific (CP.TO) picked up more than 6percent.
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