TSX Hits 3-month High, Ends On Upbeat Note

(RTTNews) - As Canadian stocks stayed firm right through the session amid rising optimism that the economy will recover as businesses reopen after weeks of lockdown, the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index hit a 3-month high and ended on a buoyant note on Wednesday.

Bank of Canada left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.25%, and said in its accompanying statement that the Canadian economy appeared to have avoided the most severe scenario presented in the bank's April Monetary Policy Report.

"Decisive and targeted fiscal actions, combined with lower interest rates, are buffering the impact of the shutdown on disposable income and helping to lay the foundation for economic recovery," it said.

Although the outlook for the second half and beyond remained heavily clouded, the bank expects the economy to resume growth in the third quarter, it added.

Financial and industrial shares were the most impressive gainers. Real estate, utilities, telecommunications, consumer discretionary and energy stocks were the other notable gainers. Healthcare and consumer staples shares saw a good session as well, while materials stocks ended weak.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a gain of 180.75 points or 1.17% at 15,575.11, after scaling a low of 15,504.24 and a high of 15,628.87 intraday.

Among bank stocks, Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO), Laurentian Bank (LB.TO), CDN Western Bank (CWB.TO), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) and Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) gained 3 to 5%. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) and National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) gained 2.7% and 1.7%, respectively. Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) ended with a modest gain.

Among other notable movers in the financial space, Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO) rose 6.7%, Sun Life Financial (SLF.TO) gained 4% and Manulife Financial (MFC.TO) ended higher by 3.5%.

Colliers International Group (CIGI.TO) surged up 11.8%, topping the list of gainers in the real estate space.

In the industrial section, Air Canada (AC.TO) soared more than 10% and CAE (CAE.TO) gained about 9.3%, while Ag Growth International (AFN.TO) surged up 4.7% and Bombardier Inc. (BBD.B.TO) rose 6.7%.

Altagas (ALA.TO), Northland Power (NPI.TO) and Capital Power (CPX.TO) gained 2.5 to 2.7% in the Utilities section.

In the telecom space, Corus Entertainment Inc. (CJR.B.TO) soared 14.6%. Quebecor Inc. (QBR.B.TO) and Cineplex (CGX.TO) both gained about 2.3%.

Canada Goose Holdings (GOOS.TO) topped the gainers list in the Consumer Discretionary index. Aritzia and Martinrea International (MRE.TO) gained 6.3% and 5.7%, respectively. Mty Group (MTY.TO) and Canadian Gaming Corp (GC.TO) also moved up sharply.

Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO), Seven Generations Energy (VII.TO), Baytex Energy (BTE.TO), Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO), Suncor Energy (SU.TO) and Whitecap Resources (WCP.TO) were some of the top gainers in the energy space.

Sienna Senior Living (SIA.TO) was the top gainer in the Healthcare index. The stock moved up by as much as 11.5%. Hexo Corp (HEXO.TO), Extendicare (EXE.TO) and Canopy Growth (WEED.TO) also moved up sharply.

Consumer staples shares Alimentation Couche-Tard (ATD.B.TO) and Metro Inc. (MRU.TO) ended on a strong note.

Enghouse Systems (ENGH.TO) and Celestica Inc. (CLS.TO) were the gainers in the technology space.

Materials shares Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO), Kirkland Lake Gold (KL.TO), Torex Gold Resources (TXG.TO) and Ssr Mining (SSRM.TO) declined sharply.

According to a report from Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, home sales in the region improved in May compared with April, but remained less than half of what they were a year ago due to the pandemic. The report said there were 4,606 sales in the Greater Toronto Area through its MLS system in May, down 53.7% compared with a year earlier. However, sales in May were up 55.2 per cent compared with April.

Meanwhile, data showed labor productivity in Canada improved by 3.4% in the first quarter, after seeing a decline of 0.1% a quarter earlier.