Canadian Stocks Move Back To The Upside Amid Stimulus Optimism

(RTTNews) - Following the pullback seen over the past several sessions, Canadian stocks moved back to the upside during trading on Tuesday.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index moved to the upside early in the session and remained firmly positive throughout the day before closing up 119.08 points or 0.7 percent at 17,506.48.

The rebound by Canadian stocks came amid optimism lawmakers in Washington will eventually agree on a new fiscal stimulus bill,

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has scheduled a meeting with other congressional leaders to discuss a relief package.

Pelosi is due to meet with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, while Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will participate by phone.

Materials stocks helped to lead the way higher, with the S&P/TSX Capped Materials Index surging up by 2.1 percent.

The strength in the sector came amid a sharp increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for February delivery spiking $23.20 to $1,855.30 an ounce.

Substantial strength was also visible among healthcare stocks, as reflected by the 2.7 percent spike by the S&P/TSX Capped Health Care Index.

Real estate and consumer discretionary stocks also saw notable strength, while energy stocks also moved to the upside along with the price of crude oil.

On the economic front, Statistics Canada released a report showing Canadian manufacturing sales rose 0.3 percent to $54.1 billion in October on higher sales of non-durable products. Despite the increase, sales remain 3.0 percent below their pre-pandemic levels in February.