TORONTO (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, paced by raw-materials companies including Alcan Inc., on speculation there may be more takeovers as investors bet demand for resources will remain strong. Energy producers such Petro-Canada gained.“Equities are finishing the year with a lot of strength,” said Vincent Delisle, a strategist at Scotia Capital in Montreal. “Metals stocks have a lot going for them right now: Lower metals inventories, global growth that is still expected to be fairly strong in 2007 and M&A.”

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index added 43.76, or 0.4 percent, to 12,416.63 in Toronto. It has advanced ten percent this year and is less than one percent below its record of 12,487.32 set on April 19 amid soaring metals and energy prices.

Mergers and acquisitions worldwide rose to a record $3.1 trillion as leveraged buyouts almost tripled, surpassing the previous high set in 2000 during the peak of the dot-com boom.

Yesterday, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. agreed to buy Phelps Dodge Corp. for $25.9 billion in cash and stock in the world’s biggest mining takeover.

Phelps Dodge stockholders will get $88 in cash and 0.67 share of New Orleans-based Freeport, the companies said.