Canadian Stocks Rally as Crude Oil, Copper and Gold Prices Rise

May 5 (Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks rebounded from two days of losses as energy producers such as EnCana Corp. and raw- materials producers including Falconbridge Ltd. rose alongside prices for oil, copper and gold.

The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index gained 110.86, or 0.9 percent, to 12,236.73 as of 9:54 a.m. in Toronto. The index is up 0.3 percent this week.

Providing support to the market was a U.S. government report that showed employers added fewer jobs than economists expected last month, easing concern that the Federal Reserve will keep lifting interest rates. U.S. stocks rallied.

EnCana, Canada's biggest natural gas company, rose 38 cents to C$56.48. Suncor Energy Inc., the largest producer of oil from Canada's tar sands, advanced 76 cents to C$96.91.

Oil increased as threats to Iran's supplies halted the biggest two-day decline for almost a year. Crude for June delivery gained as much as 1.1 percent to $70.70 a barrel in New York and traded most recently at $70.21.

Falconbridge, Canada's No. 2 nickel miner and a producer of copper, added 91 cents to C$46.81. Teck Cominco Ltd., the world's No. 1 zinc miner, rallied 48 cents to C$77.75.

Copper for delivery in three months rose as much as 2 percent to a record $7,800 a metric ton and traded at $7,708 most recently as threats to supply fueled buying by investment funds.

Gold futures also climbed, reaching a 25-year high of $687 an ounce in New York on increasing tension over Iran's nuclear program. Barrick Gold Corp., the No. 1 bullion producer, gained C$1.51 to C$38.07.