The Canadian market is experiencing a moderate increase in late morning trades on Friday due to upward trends in the healthcare, real estate, communications and utilities sectors. Sentiment has been buoyed by the strong performance of iPhone producer, Apple Inc., and a decrease in concerns over interest rates following new economic data from the U.S.
The crucial S&P/TSX Composite Index has risen by 104.85 points or 0.48%, to 21,928.07, a quarter before noon. Regarding Canadian economic developments, the S&P Global Canada Services PMI revealed an April reading of 49.3, an increase compared to March's figure of 46.4. Despite marking the highest level since June, it still signifies a contraction.
Companies such as Colliers International Group, BRP Inc, Shopify Inc, TFI International, Constellation Software, CGI Inc, Royal Bank of Canada and Thomson Reuters Corporation have experienced gains ranging from 1.2 to 2.2%, while Open Text Corporation has seen a significant drop of 16% despite reporting a total revenue of $1.447 billion in Q3, a 16.3% increase from the same quarter last year.
Aritzia Inc, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Parkland Corporation, Russel Metals, Altus Group, GFL Environmental, Stella-Jones, Cameco Corporation and Wheaton Precious Metals have all noted a downturn of 1.4 to 4%. However, TC Energy Corp reported a net income of $1.2 billion or $1.16 per share in Q1, resulting in a more than 3% increase in stock price.
TransAlta Corporation is also doing well, posting a nearly 5% gain after reporting Q1 net earnings of $222 million. Conversely, Brookfield Business Partners reported a Q1 net income of $48 million, a contrast to the $74 million from the previous period, causing a stock decrease of 2%.