Canadian Market Ends Higher For 6th Straight Day

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market ended on a firm note on Tuesday, extending gains to a sixth straight day, thanks to sustained buying in technology and healthcare stocks.

Sluggish commodity prices rendered energy and materials stocks weak. Stocks from the rest of the sectors turned in a mixed performance.

Despite concerns about the ongoing war between Russia and China, the mood remained positive right through the session amid optimism about economic growth.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which hit a new peak at 22,152.94, ended with a gain of 65.22 points or 0.3% at 22,074.35, a new record closing high.

The Health Care Capped Index climbed up 2.81%. Tilray Inc (TLRY.TO) and Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO) moved up 6.25% and 6%, respectively. Well Health Technologies (WELL.TO) gained 4.1%, while Cronos Group (CRON.TO) and Canopy Growth Corp (WEED.TO) ended higher by 2.9% and 2.5%, respectively. Bausch Health Companies (BHC.TO) gained 1.6%.

The Information Technology Capped Index moved up 2.77%. Quarterhill Inc (QTRH.TO) soared 10%, Lightspeed Commerce (LSPD.TO) climbed nearly 8% and Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) gained 6%. Nuvei Corp (NVEI.TO), BlackBerry (BB.TO), Viq Solutions (VQS.TO), Hut 8 Mining (HUT.TO), Descartes Systems (DSG.TO) and Dye & Durham also ended sharply higher.

Energy stocks MEG Energy (MEG.TO), Baytex Energy Corp (BTE.TO), Parex Resources (PXT.TO), Enerplus Corp (ERF.TO) and Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) lost 1.4 to 2.1%.

In the materials space, K92 Mining (KNT.TO), Teck Resources (TECK.B.TO), Silvercrest Metals (SIL.TO), Hudbay Minerals (HBM.TO), First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) and Ssr Mining (SSRM.TO) were among the major losers.

On the economic front, data from Statistics Canada showed raw materials prices in the country decreased to 29.8% year-on-year in February, from 30.5% in January.

The data also said the industrial product price index rose 3.1% month-on-month in February, after rising 3% in January. Year-on-year, producer prices increased 16.4% in February over the same month in the previous year.