TSX Rises As Materials, Healthcare Stocks Rally

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market ended on a firm note on Friday, with rising gold prices amid global growth worries triggering heavy buying in the materials space. Healthcare shares were among the other prominent gainers.

Investor sentiment was positive right through the session after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reportedly said the U.S. and China are making "a lot of progress" in trade talks.

News about U.S. President Donald Trump agreeing to end the government shutdown helped as well. Trump revealed in a speech from the White House rose garden that lawmakers will vote later today on legislation to fund the shuttered parts of the government until February 15th.

If an agreement on border security is not reached by February 15th, Trump suggested the government could shut down again or he could declare the situation on the border a national emergency.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended up 85.27 points, or 0.56%, at 15,366.05, after scaling a low of 15,298.44 and a high of 15,387.96 in the session.

On Thursday, the index gained 72.45 points, or 0.48%, at 15.280.78. For the week, the index gained about 0.41%.

The Capped Materials Index surged up 2.28%. Barrick Gold Corporation (ABX.TO) gained 2.4%, Franco-Nevada Corporation (FNV.TO) advanced 1.5%, Teck Resources (TECK.B.TO) ended nearly 2.5% up, Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) surged up 3.25%, Goldcorp Inc. (G.TO) gained 2.2%, Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM.TO) ended 2.85% up, First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) surged up 4.7% and Kirkland Lake Global (KL.TO) ended nearly 3% up.

The Capped Healthcare Index gained 3.02%. Canopy Growth Corporation (WEED.TO) soared 8.6% after investment banking firm Piper Jaffray raised its price target on the stock by 50%, saying the company is well-positioned in the emerging and growing markets for legal and medical marijuana. Aphria Inc. (APHA.TO) gained 2.1% and Hexo Corp. (HEXO.TO) ended 1.2% up.

Among metal stocks, Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO), Imperial Oil (IMO.TO), Husky Energy (HSE.TO), BayTex Energy (BTE.TO) and Vermilion Energy (VET.TO) gained 2 to 5%.

The Information Technology Index gained nearly 1%. Shopify Inc. (SHOP.TO) added nearly 2%, BlackBerry (BB.TO) gained 3.1% and Celestica Inc. (CLS.TO) advanced 2.35%.

The Capped Industrials Index ended 0.57% up. Canadian Pacific Railway (CP.TO), Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO), SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. (SNC.TO) and Toromont Industries (TIH.TO) gained 0.3% - 1%. Bombardier Inc. (BBD.B.TO) ended stronger by 3.7%.

Among consumer discretionary shares, Magna International (MG.TO), Dollarama Inc. (DOL.TO), Gildan Activewear (GIL.TO) and BRP Inc. (DOO.TO) gained 1 to 2.1%. Linamar Corporation (LNR.TO) spurted 4.8% and Canada Goose Holdings (GOOS.TO) climbed 5.6%.

In the banking space, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) and Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) both ended higher by about 0.45%.

U.S. stocks ended higher on optimism about trade talks and an announcement regarding an agreement to end the government shutdown.

The Dow and the S&P 500 gained 0.8% and 0.9%, respectively. The Nasdaq jumped 1.3%.

European markets ended on a firm note on Friday, riding on gains in technology and automobile shares, thanks to fairly encouraging earnings reports and on renewed optimism about trade talks. Asian markets too closed mostly higher.

In commodities, crude oil futures for March ended up $0.56, or 1.1%, at $53.69 a barrel.

Gold futures for April ended at $1,304.20 an ounce, gaining $18.30, or 1.4%.

Silver futures for March settled at $15.699 an ounce, up $0.399 for the session, while Copper futures for March ended up $0.845, at $2.7290 per pound.