TSX Hits Fresh Record High, Ends On Positive Note

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market ended modestly higher on Friday, led by gains in healthcare, technology and industrials shares.

Energy stocks drifted lower. Consumer staples and communications stocks were also a bit weak, while consumer discretionary stocks fared well.

The mood was cautious once again, with worries about Russia-Ukraine conflict continuing to weigh on sentiment. Investors also digested the latest batch of economic data from Canada and the U.S.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a gain of 47.25 points or 0.22% at 21,818.47 after recording a fresh all-time high of 21,877.14.

Canada Goose Holdings (GOOS.TO) surged up more than 9%. Nuvei Corp (NVEI.TO) climbed 7%. Spin Master Corp (TOY.TO), CCL Industries (CCL.A.TO) and Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) gained 3.7 to 5.3%.

Brp Inc (DOO.TO), TFI International (TFII.TO), Descartes Systems Group (DSG.TO), Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) and goeasy (GSY.TO) also posted strong gains.

MAG Silver Corp (MAG.TO) plunged nearly 11%. Loblaw Companies (L.TO), Dollarama Inc (DOL.TO), Cogeco Communications (CCA.TO), Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO), George Weston (WN.TO), Franco-Nevada Corporation (FNV.TO), Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) and Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) shed 1 to 2.5%.

On the economic front, Canada's annual inflation rate quickened to 5.7% in February of 2022, the highest since August of 1991, slightly above market expectations of 5.5%, data from Statistics Canada showed.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 1.0%, beating market forecasts of a 0.9% gain and marginally quicker than a 0.9% increase in January.

Core consumer prices in Canada increased 4.8% in February of 2022 over the same month in the previous year.

Another data from Statistics Canada showed wholesale sales in Canada grew for the sixth consecutive month, increasing by 4.2% month-over-month to C$ 79.8 billion in January of 2022, compared to preliminary estimates of a 3.8% rise. Year-on-year, wholesale sales advanced 14.6%.