Canadian Shares Firmly In Positive Territory In Cautious Trade

(RTTNews) - After opening higher and retreating into the red, the Canadian stock market rebounded swiftly Friday morning and is up firmly in positive territory about half an hour past noon.

The mood, however, remains cautious amid continued worries about U.S.-China tensions, rising coronavirus cases and uncertainty about pace of economic recovery. Hopes about additional stimulus from central banks and government appear to be pushing the market up.

Materials, industrials and utilities shares are the major gainers. A few stocks from consumer staples, telecom and information technology sections too have moved up sharply. Energy, financial and consumer discretionary stocks are turning in a mixed performance.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is up 93.73 points or 0.58% at 16,118.23, recovering well from a low of 16,012.89.

Positive data on wholesale sales for the month of May, and expectations of more stimulus measures from global central banks and governments support the market, while spikes in coronavirus cases in several parts across the world and simmering tensions between the U.S. and China limit the upside.

Kinross Gold Corp (K.TO) and Yamana Gold (YRI.TO) are up 4% and 3%, respectively. B2Gold Corp (BTO.TO) is surging up 2.3%, Barrick Gold Corporation (ABX.TO) is rising 1.7% and First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) is up by about 1.6%.

Canadian Pacific Railway (CP.TO), Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO), Shopify Inc. (SHOP.TO) and Dollarama (DOL.TO) are up 1 to 2%.

Cogeco Communications (CCA.TO) is moving up by over 6%, Pan American Silver Corp (PAAS.TO) is gaining 5.4%, Cogeco Inc. (CGO.TO) is rising 5.2% and Rogers Communications (RCI.A.TO) is up 3.65%.

Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC.TO), West Fraser Timber (WFT.TO), Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO), FirstService Corporation (FSV.TO) and Cargojet (CJT.TO) are gaining 2 to 3.4%.

Among the losers, Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO) is down 3%, Hexo Corp (HEXO.TO) is declining 2%, Air Canada (AC.TO) is lower by about 1.4% and Manulife Financial Services (MFC.TO) is down 1.2%. Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) and Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) are also notably lower.

In economic news, wholesale sales in Canada increased to 5.7% in May, after seeing a decline of 21.6% a month earlier, data from Statistics Canada showed.