TSX Extends Gains To 4th Straight Session, Ends More Than 1% Up

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market ended on a high note on Tuesday, extending recent gains, with investors cheering news from the U.S. about President-elect Joe Biden's transition to the White House.

The market also continued to benefit from recent updates on coronavirus vaccine. After encouraging updates from Moderna and Pfizer in the past week, AstraZeneca announced on Monday that its coronavirus vaccine candidate is about 90% effective in preventing the infection.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a gain of 179.72 points or 1.05% at 17,274.25, after hitting a high of 17,311.14 a little past noon.

Energy stocks hogged the limelight once again, riding on another surge in crude oil prices. Healthcare, consumer discretionary and financial stocks were the other major gainers.

Several stocks from the telecom space too ended on a firm note, while materials shares drifted lower on weak bullion prices. Information technology, consumer staples and industrial shares turned in a mixed performance.

Among the most actively traded stocks, Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO) soared nearly 28%. Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO), Whitecap Resources (WCP.TO), Air Canada (AC.TO), Vermilion Energy (VET.TO), MEG Energy (MEG.TO) and Aphria Inc. (APHA.TO) surged up 7 to 10%.

Suncor Energy (SU.TO), Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO), Manulife Financial Corporation (MFC.TO), Enbridge Inc. (ENB.TO), Cenvous Energy (CVE.TO) and Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) gained 2 to 5%.

Canopy Growth Corporation (WEED.TO), Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO), Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) and Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) also ended with strong gains.

U.S. stocks ended on an upbeat note, reacting to news about the President-elect Joe Biden's transition to the White House.

The Dow sped past a milestone of 30,000 for the first ever time, and more importantly, held gains and finished above that mark. The Dow ended up 454.64 points or 1.54% at 30,045.91, settling above the coveted 30,000 mark for the first time ever. The S&P 500 surged up 57.84 points or 1.62% to settle at 3,635.43, a record closing high, while the Nasdaq climbed 156.15 points or 1.31% to finish at 12,036.79.

Stocks markets across the Asia-Pacific region and Europe also mostly ended with strong gains.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures settled stronger by $1.85 or about 4.3% at $44.91 a barrel, after scaling a high of $45.20 in the session.

Gold futures for December ended lower by $33.20 or about 1.8% at $1,804.60 an ounce, the lowest settlement since mid-July.

Silver futures for December closed with a loss of $0.333 at $23.300 an ounce, while Copper futures for December settled at $3.2995 per pound, gaining $0.0415.