Canadian Markets Up Firmly In Positive Territory; Materials Shares Rally

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market remains firmly entrenched in positive territory Thursday afternoon, supported by strong gains in materials section.

A few top stocks from financials, energy and consumer discretionary sectors too are up with impressive gains.

Dovish comments from the Federal Reserve, firm commodity prices and upbeat earnings updates contribute to the positive mood in the market.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is up 95.50 points or 0.475 at 20,325.90, after advancing to a high of 20,363.04.

The Capped Materials Index is up nearly 2.5%. Kirkland Lake Gold (KL.TO), Endeavour Silver Corp (EDR.TO), Lithium Americas Corp (LAC.TO), Canfor Corp (CFP.TO) and First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) are up 5 to 6.3%.

Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) is climbing nearly 5%, while Silvercrest Metals (SIL.TO), Kinross Gold Corp (K.TO), Franco-Nevada Corp (FNV.TO), Equinox Gold Corp (EQX.TO), MAG Silver (MAG.TO), Interfor Corp (IFP.TO) and First Majestic Silver Corp (FR.TO) are up 3 to 4%.

In the energy section, Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO) is up 3.5%. Tourmaline Oil Corp (TOU.TO), PrairieSky Royalty (PSK.TO), Parex Resources (PXT.TO), Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO), Imperial Oil (IMO.TO) and Vermilion Energy (VET.TO) are gaining 1 to 2.5%.

Cenvous Energy (CVE.TO) is climbing nearly 3%. The company reported net earnings of C$224 million or C$0.11 per share in the second quarter, up from C$220 million or C$0.10 in the first quarter.

TC Energy Corporation (TRP.TO) is down nearly 1%. The company reported second-quarter net income of $982 million or $1.00 per share compared to net income of $1.3 billion or $1.36 per share for the same period in 2020.

Whitecap Resources Inc. (WCP.TO) reported net income of $18.56 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2021, compared with net loss of $78.29 million in the corresponding quarter last year. The stock is up by about 0.6%.

National Bank of Canada (NA.TO), Sun Life Financial (SLF.TO), Onex Corp (ONEX.TO), Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) and Manulife Financial (MFC.TO), gaining between 1 and 2%, are the notable gainers in the financial section.

Among consumer discretionary stocks, Sleep Country Canada Holdings (ZZZ.TO) is rising more than 5%, Linamar Corp (LNR.TO) is up 2.7%, Martinrea International (MRE.TO) is gaining 2.5% and Brp Inc (DOO.TO) is up 2.3%. Spin Master Corp (TOY.TO) and Magna International (MG.TO) are up 1.7% and 1.1%, respectively.

Fortis Inc. (FTS.TO) reported net earnings attributable to common equity shareholders of $253 million or $0.54 per common share for the second quarter, a decrease of $21 million, or $0.05 per common share compared to the same period in 2020. The stock is down by about 0.4%.

On the economic front, data released by Statistics Canada showed average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees in Canada inched down 0.1% year-on-year to C$ 1,138 in May, and went up 0.9% on a monthly basis.