TSX Ends On Buoyant Note

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market ended on a high note on Tuesday, tracking strong gains in the U.S. and European markets, amid hopes of a clear verdict in the U.S. Presidential election and optimism about a big fiscal stimulus.

A rally in crude oil prices contributed as well to market's rise.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a gain of 242.28 points or 1.54% at 15,939.15. The index scaled a low of 15,791.83 and a high of 15,975.85 in the session.

Information technology, financial, consumer discretionary, energy and industrial shares rose sharply. Several stocks from real estate, utilities and consumer staples sections too posted impressive gains. Healthcare stocks ended sharply lower, while materials and telecom stocks ended mixed.

In the technology section, Celestica Inc. (CLS.TO) and Constellation Software (CSU.TO) gained 5.2% and 4.9%, respectively. Lightspeed Pos (LSPD.TO) gained 4% and BlackBerry (BB.TO) gained 3.4%. Open Text Corp (OTEX.TO), Kinaxis Inc. (KXS.TO), Enghouse Systems (ENGH.TO), Descartes Systems (DSG.TO) and CGI Group (GIB.A.TO) also rose sharply.

Among the stocks in the Financial Index, Laurentian Bank (LB.TO), Manulife Financial (MFC.TO), Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO), Sun Life Financial (SLF.TO), Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) and Onex Corp (ONEX.TO) gained 2 to 5%. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO), CDN Western Bank (CWB.TO) and Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) also ended with strong gains.

Consumer discretionary stocks Gildan Activewear (GIL.TO), Spin Master (TOY.TO), Restaurant Brands International (QSR.TO), Magna International (MG.TO), Aritzia Inc. (ATZ.TO) and Great Canadian Gaming Corp (GC.TO) moved up 2 to 5.2%.

Cargojet (CJT.TO), up 7.4%, was the top gainer in the Industrial Index. Ballard Power Systems (BLDP.TO) gained 6%, while CAE (CAE.TO), Exchange Income Corp (EIF.TO) and Thomson Reuters (TRI.TO) gained 3 to 3.7%. Thomson Reuters reported third quarter adjusted earnings per share of $0.39 compared to $0.27, a year ago.

Husky Energy (HSE.TO), Cenvous Energy (CVE.TO), Vermilion Energy (VET.TO), Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO), Arc Resources (ARX.TO) and Imperial Oil (IMO.TO) were among the top gainers in the energy space. These stocks moved up by 2 to 4.5%.

In the healthcare section, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (AUP.TO) plunged more than 10%. Bausch Health Companies (BHC.TO) shares tumbled 6.5%, while Canopy Growth Corporation (WEED.TO) declined by about 3%.

U.S. stocks ended sharply higher on hopes for a definitive outcome from presidential election. The Dow spiked 2.1%, the Nasdaq surged up 1.9% and the S&P 500 jumped 1.8%.

Stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher. The major European markets too closed on a high note.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December settled higher by $0.85 or about 2.3% at $37.66 a barrel.

Gold futures for December ended up $17.90 or about 1% at $1,910.40 an ounce.

Silver futures for December ended higher by $0.301 at $24.334 an ounce, while Copper futures for December settled at $3.0925 per pound, gaining $0.0155 for the session.