TSX Ends Higher As Materials, Bank Stocks Rise On Bargain Hunting

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market ended moderately higher on Thursday as bargain hunting in some key stocks after the terrible setback in the previous session pushed up values.

Data showing a notable increase in Canadian building permits also aided market's uptick.

Utilities, real estate, healthcare, materials and financial shares made notable progress in positive territory. A few stocks from consumer discretionary and telecom sections too posted impressive gains. Energy, consumer staples and information technology stocks failed to find any significant support.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index finished with a gain of 84.13 points or 0.54% at 15,670.70, after scaling a low of 15,514.59 and a high of 15,738.19 intraday.

Among the most actively traded shares, First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) surged up 3.3%, MEG Energy (MEG.TO) firmed up 2.7% and Manulife Financial (MFC.TO) gained 2.15%. Barrick Gold Corporation (ABX.TO) advanced 1.25%.

Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) and Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) gained 1.85% and 1.7%, respectively. Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) moved up 1.25%.

Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) also closed sharply higher.

Constellation Software (CSU.TO), Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO), Magna International (MG.TO), Colliers International Group (CIGI.TO) and CGI Inc. (GIB.A.TO) were also among the top gainers in the session.

Among the prominent losers, Shopify Inc. (SHOP.TO) slid nearly 5%, Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) shed 4.1% and Bombardier Inc. (BBD.B.TO) declined 3.2%, while Tourmaline Oil Corp (TOU.TO), Lundin Mining (LUN.TO) and Husky Energy (HSE.TO) ended lower by 2 to 2.25%.

Data released by Statistics Canada this morning showed the value of building permits in Canada increased by 17% in September to C$9.4 billion following a downwardly revised 1.4% increase in the previous month.

Average weekly earnings of Canadian non-farm payroll employees rose 7.9% in August after rising 8.7% a month earlier.