Canadian Market Firmly Up In Positive Territory As Technology, Energy Stocks Rise

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market is up firmly in positive territory about an hour past noon on Wednesday, led by gains in energy and technology shares.

Strong retail sales data and firm crude oil prices contribute to market's marked increase.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index was up 174.50 points or 0.91% at 19,349.59 an hour past noon.

Information technology stock Shopify Inc. (SHOP.TO) is soaring nearly 11%. Shopify Inc.'s net income soared to US $1.26 billion in its latest quarter. The company posted net loss of US$31.4 million in the year-ago quarter.

Tecys Inc (TCS.TO) is rising 5.5%, Hut 8 Mining Corp (HUT.TO) is up 3%, and Descartes Systems Group (DSG.TO), Kinaxis Inc (KXS.TO), Alithya Group (ALYA.TO), Lightspeed Pos (LSPD.TO) and Photon Control (PHO.TO) are up 2 to 2.5%.

CGI Inc. (GIB.A.TO) announced it earned $341.2 million or $1.34 per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31, compared with a profit of $314.8 million or $1.18 per diluted share in the same quarter last year. The stock is gaining about 0.6%.

Energy stocks Vermilion Energy (VET.TO), Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO), Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO), Tourmaline Oil Corp (TOU.TO), Enerplus Corp (ERF.TO), Arc Resources (ARX.TO), MEG Energy (MEG.TO), Imperial Oil (IMO.TO) and Parex Resources (PXT.TO) are gaining 3 to 6%.

In the healthcare section, Organigram Holdings (OGI.TO) is climbing more than 8%. Aphria Inc (APHA.TO), Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO) and Canopy Growth Corporation (WEED.TO) are up 4.5%, 4.3% and 3.3%, respectively.

Teck Resources Limited (TECK.B.TO) reported Wednesday that its first-quarter profit attributable to shareholders was C$305 million, compared to last year's loss of C$312 million. Earnings per share were C$0.57, compared to loss of C$0.57 a year ago. The stock is down nearly 2.5%.

Data released by Statistics Canada showed retail sales rose 4.8% to $55.1 billion in February, led by gains at motor-vehicle and parts dealers and gasoline stations.