TSX Ends Slightly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market ended marginally up on Tuesday, aided by strong gains in energy, healthcare and information technology shares.

Expectations of further economic stimulus in the U.S., the rollout of coronavirus vaccines and higher crude oil prices pushed up the market.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which fell to 17,916.79 after hitting a high of 18,023.29, ended the session with a gain of 12.49 points or 0.07% at 17,957.37.

The Capped Energy Index surged up 1.89%. Vermilion Energy (VET.TO) climbed 8%. Vermilion's Board of Directors has approved an E&D capital budget of $300 million for 2021, representing a 17% reduction from 2020. The company said the capital budget was designed to maximize returns and free cash flow while retaining the flexibility to adjust investment levels depending on commodity prices.

Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO), Husky Energy (HSE.TO), PrairieSky Royalty (PSK.TO), MEG Energy (MEG.TO) and Seven Generations Energy (VII.TO) gained 4.5 to 6%. Suncor Energy (SU.TO), Enerplus Corp (ERF.TO), Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO), Parex Resources (PXT.TO) and Whitecap Resources (WCP.TO) also moved up sharply.

In the healthcare section, Aphria Inc. (APHA.TO) gained 5.3%, Bausch Health Companies (BHC.TO) rallied 4.6%, Sienna Senior Living (SIA.TO) surged up 2.7% and Chartwell Retirement Residences (CSH.UN.TO) gained 1.7%.

Technology stock BlackBerry (BB.TO) zoomed nearly 19%. BlackBerry has reportedly settled a legal dispute with Facebook over the subject of patent royalties. According to reports, a company spokeswoman said "we have resolved disputes pertaining to a confidential agreement and have no further comment."

Kinaxis Inc. (KXS.TO) gained 5.8% and Absolute Software Corp (ABST.TO) firmed up 4.4%, while Descartes Systems (DSG.TO), Photon Control (PHO.TO), Celestica Inc. (CLS.TO), Sierra Wireless (SW.TO) and Constellation Software (CSU.TO) gained 1.4 to 3%.

On the economic front, data from Statistics Canada showed car Registrations in Canada decreased to 131,745 Units in November from 159,098 Units a month earlier.

According to another data from Statistic Canada, manufacturing sales in Canada decreased 0.6% from a month earlier to C$ 53.7 billion in November 2020, the first decline in three months.

Another report from the same bureau said Canadian wholesale sales increased 0.7% month-over-month in November of 2020 to an all-time high of C$ 67.4 billion, compared with initial estimates of a 1% rise.