TSX Rebounds, Ends On Firm Note

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market ended on a firm note on Tuesday, with investors going on some bargain hunting after a severe setback in the previous session.

Mounting concerns about the potential impact of the coronavirus on the global economy had rendered the mood bearish in markets across the globe on Tuesday and knocked the wind out of stocks.

Healthcare, information technology and industrial shares led the market up. Materials and consumer staples shares were weak, while telecommunications, energy and financial shares turned in a mixed performance.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended up 58.36 points, or 0.33%, at 17,500.88, after scaling a low of 17,456.06 and a high of 17,518.95 intraday.

The Capped Healthcare Index rose 4.44%. Canopy Growth Corporation (WEED.TO) soared nearly 11%. Cronos Group (CRON.TO) surged up 5.85%, Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO) gained 4.85%, Bausch Health Companies (BHC.TO) advanced 2.9% and Aphria Inc. (APHA.TO) gained 2.2%.

In the information technology space, Lightspeed Pos (LSPD.TO), Enghouse Systems (ENGH.TO) and Shopify Inc. (SHOP.TO) gained 3.4 to 3.8%. Kinaxis Inc. (KXS.TO), Celestica Inc. (CLS.TO), Blackberry (BB.TO), Sierra Wirelss (SW.TO), Descartes Group Systems (DSG.TO), Open Text Corporation (OTEX.TO) and Constellation Software (CSU.TO) ended higher by 1 to 3%.

Among the gainers in the industrial section, Ballard Power Systems (BLDP.TO) climbed more than 13% and Bombardier Inc. (BBD.B.TO) gained nearly 8.5%. Ag Growth International (AFN.TO), New Flyer Industries (NFI.TO), Richelieu Hardware (RCH.TO), Mullen Group (MTL.TO) and Chorus Aviation (CHR.TO) gained 2 to 3%.

Transcontinental (TCL.A.TO), Tfi International (TFII.TO) and Canadian Pacific Railway (CP.TO) also rose sharply.

First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO), Baytex Energy (BTE.TO) and Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) were among the other notable gainers in the session.

U.S. stocks ended notably higher due largely on bargain hunting and on data showing a notable improvement in U.S. consumer confidence in the month of January, and more than expected jump in durable goods orders in December.

The Dow climbed 0.7%, the Nasdaq surged up 1.4% and the S&P 500 jumped 1%.

Asian markets ended mostly lower on Tuesday, while most of the markets across Europe closed on a bright note.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended up $0.34, or about 0.6%, at $53.48 a barrel.

Gold futures for February ended down $7.60, or about 0.5%, at $1,569.80 an ounce, after easing to a low of $1,566.10 around noon.

Silver futures for March ended down $0.598 at $17.458 an ounce, while Copper futures for March settled at $2.5795 per pound, down $0.0170 from previous close.