Canadian Market Holds In Positive Territory As Energy, Technology Stocks Shine

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market is modestly higher Tuesday afternoon, lifted by gains in energy, healthcare and information technology sections.

Energy stocks are up, buoyed by a surge in crude oil prices. Despite upbeat earnings updates from Bank of Nova Scotia and Bank of Montreal, shares from the financial sector are turning in a subdued performance.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is up 76.72 points or about 0.4% at 20,553.98. 20,484.23 - 20,563.15

Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO) and Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) are up 3.7% and 3.3%, respectively. Vermilion Energy (VET.TO), MEG Energy (MEG.TO), Enerplus Corp (ERF.TO), Whitecap Resources (WCP.TO), Tourmaline Oil Corp (TOU.TO) and Arc Resources (ARX.TO) are up 1.8 to 2.6%.

Healthcare stocks Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO) and Organigram Holdings (OGI.TO) are moving up 1.7% and 1.4%, respectively. Canopy Growth Corp (WEED.TO) and Bausch Health Companies (BHC.TO) are also up sharply.

In the information technology section, Quarterhill (QTRH.TO) is rising 5.6%, Dye & Durham (DND.TO) is climbing 5.2% and Nuvei Corp (NVEI.TO) is gaining 4.3%. Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO), BlackBerry (BB.TO), Absolute Software (ABST.TO), Kinaxis Inc (KXS.TO), Enghouse Systems (ENGH.TO) and Celestica Inc (CLS.TO) are up 1.2 to 3%.

Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) reported third-quarter net income of $2,542 million, compared to $1,304 million in the same period last year. Diluted earnings per share were $1.99, up 91% from $1.04 in the previous year. The stock is down by about 0.4%.

BMO Financial Group (BMO.TO) shares are up 1.6%. The bank said it recorded strong pre-provision pre-tax earnings of C$2.9 billion for the third quarter, up 12% year-over-year, driven by revenue growth of 10%. Third-quarter adjusted earnings per share was C$3.44, up 86% from last year.