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The Canadian market commenced on a positive note last Thursday, and continued its upward trajectory mainly due to strong buying in technology, materials, utilities, and consumer staples sectors.
The market's optimistic mood was fueled by expectations of interest-rate reductions by the Federal Reserve and some other central banks within the second quarter. Additionally, investors weighed in on the latest selection of U.S. and Canadian economic figures, as well as the European Central Bank's decision to keep interest rates steady.
The well-known S&P/TSX Composite Index, after scaling 21,784.82, rose by 129.57 points or 0.6%, registering 21,723.53 just before midday.
Technology stocks such as Descartes Systems Group and Coveo Solutions observed increases of 5.2% and 4.5% respectively. Constellation Software improved by 3.5%, while a group of other stocks including Enghouse Systems, Kinaxis Inc, CGI Group, Docebo Inc, Converge Technology Solutions, and Open Text Corp appreciated between 1 to 2.3%.
Within the Materials Capped Index, Capstone Mining Corp emerged as the biggest gainer with a rise of 7.8%. Companies like Novagold, Seabridge Gold, Teck Resources, Hudbay Minerals, Stelco Holdings, Labrador Iron Ore, and Lundin Mining also witnessed gains between 2.5 to 4.5%.
In the utilities sector, Brookfield Infra Partners, Innergex Renewable Energy, and Northland Power showed an increase between 2.3 to 2.7%. Other firms such as Boralex, Brookfield Renewable Partners, and Hydro One advanced between 1 to 1.7%.
Consumer staples stocks including Jamieson Wellness, Loblaw, Alimentation Couche-Tard, and George Weston rose between 1.2 to 1.7%.
As per the Canadian economic data, the nation observed a trade surplus of C$500 million in January. The month saw exports decline to C$62.29 billion, and imports falling to C$61.79 million. As per Statistics Canada, Canada's building permits in January surged to 13.5% month on month as compared to a decrease of 11.5% in December.