TSX Ends Sharply Higher Again

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market ended on a strong note on Tuesday, extending gains from previous session, thanks to another round of hectic buying in energy and financial sections.

Positive economic data from China, the massive stimulus packages announced by global central banks and governments, and expectations about stability in energy markets after the U.S. and Russia agreed to engage in talks contributed to market's rise in the session.

However, the market suffered its worst quarterly setback since 2008, and its worst month ever since August 1998, amid worries about the coronavirus outbreak and an imminent deep global recession.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended up 340.25 points, or 2.61%, at 13,378.75, after scaling a high of 13,557.62 a little past noon.

The index lost 21.6% in the first quarter of 2020, and shed almost 16% in March.

Energy stocks rose sharply, lifting the Capped Energy Index up by as much as 15.48%, after reports said the U.S. and Russia have agreed to talks aimed at stabilizing energy markets.

Telecommunications, financial and utilities shares posted strong gains, resulting in the indices tracking the performances of stocks in these sectors moving up by 2.9 to 3.1%.

Consumer staples, real estate and industrial stocks were also in demand, while information technology, healthcare and materials shares failed to hold gains.

Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) zoomed 22.5%. Suncor Energy (SU.TO), Seven Generations Energy (VII.TO) and Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) gained 17.8 to 18.4%.

MEG Energy (MEG.TO), Pembina Pipeline Corporation (PPL.TO), Whitecap Resources (WCP.TO) and Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO) gained 8 to 12%.

TC Energy Corporation (TRP.TO) ended stronger by 7.35%. The company announced that it is going ahead with construction of its US$8-billion, 1,947-kilometer Keystone XL Pipeline project.

CDN Western Bank (CWB.TO), Power Corporation of Canada (POW.TO), Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO), Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO), Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO), National Bank of Canada (NA.TO), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO), Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) and Sun Life Financial (SLF.TO) gained 2 to 7%.

On the economic front, the Canadian economy advanced 0.1% over a month earlier in January 2020, slowing from a 0.3% expansion in December and matching market expectations.

Canada's Industrial Product Price Index declined 0.5% month-over-month in February of 2020, after dropping 0.3% in the prior month. Producer prices decreased 0.3% in February of 2020 over the same month in the previous year.

Meanwhile, the Raw Materials Price Index in Canada fell 4.7% month-over-month in February of 2020, after a 2.2% drop in the prior month and worse than market expectations of a 0.8%.

U.S. stocks recovere from initial weakness but retreated later to end firmly in negative territory. The Dow eased 1.8%, the Nasdaq slumped 1% and the S&P 500 tumbled 1.6%, as stocks wilted under pressure amid concerns about the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The major European markets all finished a volatile session in positive territory, while Asian markets turned in a mixed performance.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended up $0.39, or 1.9%, at $20.48 a barrel, after hitting a low of $20.05 this afternoon.

Gold futures for June ended down $46.60, or about 2.8%, at $1,596.60 an ounce.

Silver futures for May ended up $0.024 at $14.156 an ounce, while Copper futures for May settled at $2.2280 per pound, gaining $0.0725.