Raw-material producers, which had slumped earlier in the week, rebounded as gold futures advanced. ``Wherever prices of natural resources go, the Canadian market goes,'' said Fred Ketchen, director of equity trading at Scotia McLeod Inc. in Toronto. ``The recent sell-off was probably overdone.'' The S&P/TSX gained 36.78, or 0.3 percent, to 11,741.09 as of 11:53 a.m. in Toronto. It is up 0.8 percent this week, heading for its fourth advance in five. It has slumped 2.8 percent since an all-time record on Feb. 6. Crude oil for March delivery climbed 1.4 percent to $59.30 a barrel in New York. The BBC reported Nigerian militants would declare ``total war'' on foreign oil companies, rekindling concern supplies will be disrupted. Petro-Canada, the country's third-biggest oil producer, gained 68 cents to C$53.50. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd, the nation's No. 2 natural-gas producer, advanced C$1.53 to C$62.85 and contributed the most to the S&P/TSX's advance. A measure of energy producers advanced 0.8 percent, the second-biggest rally among 10 industry groups in the S&P/TSX. Raw-materials producers rose 1.2 percent, the top advance among the groups, as prices for copper and gold increased. Teck Cominco, the world biggest producer of zinc and a miner of copper, rallied C$2.98, or 4.5 percent, to C$69.66 for the biggest gain in the S&P/TSX. Copper futures rose 0.6 percent to $4,825 a metric ton in London, on speculation by investors that Chinese consumption of the metal will mean demand exceeds production this year. Copper prices have jumped 53 percent in the past year. Goldcorp Inc., Canada's fourth-biggest bullion miner, added 94 cents to C$29.41. Gold futures added 1.1 percent to $554.60 an ounce on expectations that demand for the alternative investment to stocks and bonds will resume after prices retreated from a 25-year high over the past two weeks. Telus Corp. declined C$1.30 to C$43.70 and was the top drag on the S&P/TSX. Canada's No. 2 phone company said fourth-quarter net income fell to 22 cents a share. Analysts, on average, expected 27 cents, according to Thomson Financial, which doesn't disclose the parameters of its survey to Bloomberg News. Patheon Inc. dropped 84 cents, or 11 percent, to C$7.01 for the worst performance in the S&P/TSX. The contract drugmaker said first-quarter and annual earnings will trail its forecasts due to production difficulties at its Puerto Rico plant. PIN/BLOOMBERG