Canadian Stocks Advance on Oil, Led by Scotiabank and Goldcorp

Canadian stocks had the biggest gain in five weeks after crude oil rose to a record, lifting prices of gold and other commodities, and tempering the effect of higher energy royalties announced by Alberta, hub of the nation's oil industry.

Bank of Nova Scotia and Goldcorp Inc. led the advance as Canada's dollar surged to the highest since 1974 on improved prospects for the nation's commodity exports. Canadian Oil Sands Trust paced declines among the majority of energy shares.

``The market's up on gold and resources,'' said Andrew Martyn, who helps manage the equivalent of about $475 million at Toronto- based Davis-Rea Ltd. ``People are holding off on oil stocks as the news gets digested in the market place. They're redeploying cash in financials.''

The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index gained 171.49, or 1.2 percent, to 14,296.43 in Toronto. The benchmark rose 2.1 percent this week after falling about the same amount the week before.

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