04:19 PM EDT, 08/08/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The Toronto Stock Exchange posted its first rise in five sessions on Thursday, pushed on by widespread gains amid rising commodity prices and some relief to worries over the health of the U.S. economy.

The S&P/YSX Commodities Index closed up 344.66 points to close at 22,225.61. The biggest gainers are Health Care, up 3.2%, and Base Metals and Information Technology each gaining 3.0%. Battery Metals was the lone decliner, sinking -4%.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil closed higher for a third day as strong summer demand in the United States and geopolitical risks top concerns over slowing economies in the U.S. and China.WTI crude oil for September delivery closed up US$0.96 to settle at US$76.19 per barrel, while October Brent crude, the global benchmark, closed up US$0.83 to US$79.16.

Gold traded higher for a second day mid-afternoon on Thursday even as the dollar and yields climbed after U.S. initial jobless claims rose less than expected last week, easing worries over the health of the country's labour market. Gold for December delivery was last seen up US$30.70 to US$2,463.10 per ounce.

Easing worries over the health of the U.S. jobs market, one of the triggers for Monday's market turmoil, aided equities, after the U.S. Labor Department reported fewer than expected initial jobless claims last week. All major U.S. indices rose on the day along with the TSX.

BMO's Brian Belski in a Thursday note said he is seeing signs of interest in Canadian small-cap issues. The bottom line for BMO is that overall the bank continues to believe small-cap stocks are "undervalued, under-invested and ripe with opportunity."

"Fundamentally not much has changed since we last published on the imminent Canadian small cap catch up trade. Canadian small cap equities represent value within a value market and continue to show improving and relatively strong earnings growth (not a value trap) versus their large cap peers," Belski noted. "... While small caps have remained largely ignored by the majority of investors over the last few years, there has been a clear upswing in acquisition activity that we believe reflects an increasing recognition of the fundamental value these stocks possess."

He added: "In fact, the Canadian SMID-cap universe has already exhibited 13 completed and/or pending acquisitions so far this year, the strongest acquisition activity in the first seven months of the year since 2007. From our perspective, this is yet another data point that should provide a strong signal to investors that there is significant value and opportunity within small caps in Canada."