TSX Ends Higher Again

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market ended on a firm note on Thursday, extending gains to a fifth straight session, as stocks from across several sectors posted gains on sustained buying interest.

Fairly good earnings updates from top banks, and higher commodity prices help underpin sentiment.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended higher by 148.43 points or 0.73% at 20,532.18, nearly 100 points off the day's high of 20,624.73.

Healthcare stocks rallied sharply, lifting the Health Care Capped Index up by 3.71%. Canopy Growth Corp (WEED.TO) soared nearly 11%. Well Health Technologies (WELL.TO) climbed nearly 6% and Tilray Inc (TLRY.TO) rallied nearly 5%. Bausch Health Companies (BHC.TO) advanced 2.5% and Cronos Group (CRON.TO) gained 1.8%.

The Information Technology Capped Index climbed 1.9%. Lightspeed Commerce (LSPD.TO) topped the list of gainers, zooming nearly 11%. Nuvei Corp (NVEI.TO) gained 8.9%, while Sylogist (SYZ.TO), Dye & Durham (DND.TO), Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) and Sierra Wireless (SW.TO) advanced 4.7 to 6%.

The Consumer Discretionary index and the Industrial index climbed 1.79% and 1.77%, respectively.

Consumer discretionary stocks Sleep Country Canada Holdings (ZZZ.TO), Spin Master Corp (TOY.TO), Brp Inc (DOO.TO), Canada Goose Holdings (GOOS.TO) and Aritzia (ATZ.TO) gained 3 to 6%.

In the industrials section, Ballard Power Systems (BLDP.TO) and Lifeworks Inc (LWRK.TO) rallied 7% and 6.4%, respectively. Brookfield Business Partners (BBU.UN.TO), Richelieu Hardware (RCH.TO), Air Canada (AC.TO) and Bombardier Inc (BBD.B.TO) also posted strong gains.

In the financials section, Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) gained 1.6%. The bank reported adjusted net income of $3,714 million for the second-quarter of this fiscal, compared with $3,775 million in the corresponding quarter last year.

Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) climbed 1.8%. Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO), Manulife Financial (MFC.TO), Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) and Laurentian Bank (LB.TO) also posted notable gains.

Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) ended flat. The bank reported net income of $4.3 billion for the quarter ended April 30, 2022 , up $238 million or 6% from the prior year.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) closed lower by 2%. The bank reported adjusted net income of $1,652 million for the second quarter of the current financial year, compared with adjusted net income of $1,666 million in the year-ago quarter.

On the economic front, Canada's CFIB's business barometer long-term index dropped 3.3 points to 61.6 in May of 2022, according to a report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

Statistics Canada said retail sales in Canada likely increased by 0.8% month-over-month in April of 2022, according to preliminary estimates. Considering March, retail trade was unchanged from a month earlier, compared to preliminary estimates of a 1.4% rise and an upwardly revised 0.2% gain in the previous month.

Another data from Statistics Canada said average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees in Canada rose 4.3% year-on-year to C$ 1,169.7 in March of 2022.