TSX Ends On Upbeat Note

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market ended on a high note on Thursday as investors indulged in some hectic buying at several counters from across various sectors.

Positive reaction to election news out of the U.S., and optimism about fiscal stimulus in the U.S. and Europe contributed to market's gains. Some encouraging earnings news played a role as well in lifting sentiment.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with an impressive gain of 299.43 points or 1.87% at 16,298.17, slightly off the session's high of 16,318.58.

The Capped Healthcare Index climbed 6.15%. Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO) soared more than 40%

Cronos Group (CRON.TO) surged up 16% and Canopy Growth Corp (WEED.TO) jumped 11%. Aphria Inc. (APHA.TO) rallied 9.4%, while Trillium Therapeutics Inc. (TRIL.TO), Chartwell Retirement Residences (CSH.UN.TO) and Knight Therapeutics (GUD.TO) gained 2.4 to 2.6%, while Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (AUP.TO) ended higher by 1.8%.

The Capped Materials Index climbed 6.1%. Silvercrest Metals (SIL.TO), Silvercrop Metals (SVM.TO), MAG Silver Corp (MAG.TO), Fortuna Silver Mines (FVI.TO), Osisko Mining (OSK.TO) and Pan American Silver Corp (PAAS.TO) jumped 11 to 15%.

Ssr Mining (SSRM.TO), Eldorado Gold (ELD.TO), Torex Gold Resources (TXG.TO), OceanaGold (OGC.TO), Iamgold Corp (IMG.TO), Kinross Gold (K.TO), B2Gold Corp (BTO.TO) and Barrick Gold (ABX.TO) also posted hefty gains.

Among consumer discretionary stocks, Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC.A.TO) rallied 6.7%. The company reported third-quarter net income of C$296.3 million or C$4.84 per share, up from C$197.2 million or C$3.20 per share in the prior year. The stock is gaining over 5%.

Spin Master (TOY.TO) climbed 8.5%, Magna International (MG.TO) moved up 6.1%, Dollarama (DOL.TO) gained 5.5% and Sleep Country Canada Holdings (ZZZ.TO) advanced 3.3%.

Among technology stocks, Lightspeed Pos (LSPD.TO) soared more than 16% after reporting a 62% increase in second quarter revenue. Photon Control, Shopify Inc. (SHOP.TO), Celestica Inc. (CLS.TO), Docebo (DCBO.TO), BlackBerry (BB.TO) and Sierra Wireless (SW.TO) gained 2.3 to 5%.