Canadian Market Holds In Positive Territory; Energy Stocks Move Higher

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market is up in positive territory Thursday afternoon, supported by strong gains in energy and healthcare sectors.

Stocks from consumer discretionary and financial sections are also faring well, while materials shares are notably lower. Stocks from other sectors are turning in a mixed performance.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is up 103.82 points or 0.51% at 20,505.31.

The Capped Energy Index is climbing 3.5%. Arc Resources (ARX.TO) and Tourmaline Oil Corp (TOU.TO) are surging up 6.5% and 6.4%, respectively. Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO), Vermilion Energy (VET.TO), Enerplus Corp (ERF.TO), MEG Energy (MEG.TO) and Whitecap Resources (WCP.TO) are gaining 3 to 5.4%.

Among healthcare shares, Organigram Holdings (OGI.TO) is rising 4.6%, while Tilray Inc (TLRY.TO), Canopy Growth Corp (WEED.TO), Cronos Group (CRON.TO), Bausch Health Companies (BHC.TO) and Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO) are up 2 to 2.5%.

Consumer discretionary stocks Gildan Activewear (GIL.TO), Linamar Corp (LNR.TO), Canada Goose Holdings (GOOS.TO) and Magna International (MG.TO) are up 2 to 3.4%.

Financial shares Onex Corp (ONEX.TO), Manulife Financial (MFC.TO), Laurentian Bank (LB.TO), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO), Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO), Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) and National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) are gaining 1 to 2%.

BlackBerry Limited (BB.TO) shares soared nearly 12%. The company reported after trading hours on Wednesday that it posted second-quarter revenue of $175 million. Total non-GAAP gross margin was 65% and GAAP gross margin was 64%, the company said.

On the economic front, data released by Statistics Canada this morning showed retail Sales in Canada declined unexpectedly in July. The data said retail sales contracted by 0.6% on a monthly basis in July. This reading followed June's increase of 4.2% and came in slightly better than the market expectation for a decrease of 1.2%.

Excluding automobiles, Retail Sales in Canada declined by 1% in the same period, compared to analysts' estimate for a decline of 1.5%.