TSX Ends Higher As Stocks Move Up On Bargain Hunting

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market ended modestly higher on Monday after staying firm right through the session, as investors did some bargain hunting at several counters, after recent sharp losses.

Worries about the impact of coronavirus outbreak on the global economy continued to weigh on sentiment, but the market held its gains.

Crude oil's sharp decline amid continued worries about the outlook for energy demand rendered energy stocks a bit weak. Materials shares also had a somewhat tough outing.

Information technology stocks posted strong gains. Healthcare and industrial shares too had a good session, while consumer discretionary and financial shares turned in a mixed performance.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended up 61.27 points, or 0.35%, at 17,379.76, after hitting a high of 17,441.57 in the session.

Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO) ended 6.4% up on strong volumes. Bombardier Inc. (BBD.B.TO) surged up 5.7%, while First Quantume Minerals (FM.TO) and Enbridge Inc. (ENB.TO) gained 2.3% and 1.45%, respectively.

Kinaxis Inc. (KXS.TO), Canada Goose Holdings (GOOS.TO), MTY Food Group (MTY.TO), Waste Connections (WCN.TO), Colliers International Group (CIGI.TO), Constellation Software (CSU.TO), Cogeco Communications (CCA.TO), Cogeco Inc. (CGO.TO), Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO), Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC.TO) and Shopify Inc. (SHOP.TO) gained 1.2 to 4%.

In economic news, the IHS Markit Canada Manufacturing PMI advanced to 50.6 in January 2020, up from a reading of 50.4 in the previous month. Output was up marginally and new business returned to growth, the data showed. Sentiment improved, hitting its highest level since July last year, partly driven by hopes of an improvement in global trade conditions.

U.S. stocks ended on a firm note despite paring some early gains. The Dow gained 0.5%, the Nasdaq jumped 1.3% and the S&P 500 climbed 0.7%.

Stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher on Monday. Most of the markets across Europe too closed higher.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for March dropped to a low of $49.92 and eventually ended down $1.45, or about 2.8%, at $50.11 a barrel, the lowest finish in more than a year.

Gold futures for April ended down $5.50, or about 0.4%, at $1,582.40 an ounce.

On Friday, gold futures for April ended down $1.30, or 0.08%, at $1,587.90 an ounce.

Silver futures for March ended down $0.342 at $17.670 an ounce, while Copper futures for March ended down $0.0100 at $2.5070 per pound.