TSX Extends Gains To 3rd Session, Ends Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market ended modestly higher on Wednesday thanks to gains in healthcare and energy sectors.

After two successive days of strong gains, the mood in the market was a bit cautious.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a gain of 41.42 points or 0.23% at 17,915.91. The index fell to 17,822.24 after a slightly positive start.

The Capped Healthcare Index climbed 5.52%. Aphria Inc. (APHA.TO) soared 12.5%, Canopy Growth Corporation (WEED.TO) and Cronos Group (CRON.TO) both ended higher by a little over 8%, Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO) gained 7.5% and Trillium Therapeutics (TRIL.TO) advanced 3.3%. Bausch Health Companies (BHC.TO) gained about 1.1%.

The Capped Energy Index firmed up 3.67%. MEG Energy (MEG.TO) rallied 12.6%, Enerplus (ERF.TO) gained 8.4%, Vermilion Energy (VET.TO) climbed 5.6% and Imperial Oil (IMO.TO) ended stronger by 5%. Several other stocks, including Whitecap Resources (WCP.TO), Parex Resources (PXT.TO), Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) and Suncor Energy (SU.TO) also ended sharply higher.

Consumer discretionary stocks Magna International (MG.TO), Linamar Corp (LNR.TO) and Sleep Country Canada Holdings (ZZZ.TO) gained 3.7%, 2.1% and 1.75%, respectively.

First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO), Eldorado Gold (ELD.TO), Lundin Mining (LUN.TO) and B2Gold Corp (BTO.TO) were among the notable gainers in the materials section.

In the financial space, Onex Corp (ONEX.TO) ended 2.7% up, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) gained nearly 1.5% and Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) ended modestly higher.

Technology stocks Quarterhill (QTRH.TO), Lightspeed Pos (LSPD.TO), Photon Control (PHO.TO), Celestica Inc (CLS.TO) and BlackBerry (BB.TO) ended stronger by 3.5 to 7%, while Shopify (SHOP.TO), Enghouse Systems (ENGH.TO), Kinaxis Inc. (KXS.TO) and Constellation Software (CSU.TO) ended notably lower.