By Jon Cook
TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian stocks notched their biggest single-day gain this month on Thursday as gold-mining earnings, higher oil prices and strong U.S. economic data boosted resource shares, while euro-zone debt fears eased.
Fourth-quarter earnings from Canada's top gold producers initially failed to excite, but on closer inspection sharp dividend increases by Kinross Gold (K.TO: Quote) and Agnico-Eagle AEM.TO won over investors. Kinross and Agnico shares both jumped 7 percent to C$11.07 and C$36.57 respectively.
"You look at the valuations and they appear to be cheap," said Joe Tatusko, chief investment officer at brokerage firm Westport Resources in Connecticut. "Any sliver of good news is going to have these guys move."
Shares of the country's two biggest gold miners, Barrick Gold (ABX.TO: Quote) and Goldcorp (G.TO: Quote) also rose but by a smaller margin as both reported solid quarterly results and continued success in their exploration programs. Goldcorp jumped 4.5 percent to C$47.25, while Barrick was up 1 percent to C$48.
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