Canadian Market Modestly Higher In Cautious Trade After Inflation Data

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market is modestly higher a little past noon on Wednesday, recovering slightly thanks to strong buying in technology and healthcare sectors after a mild setback.

Stocks from the rest of the sectors are turning in a mixed performance amid cautious moves by investors after data showed an acceleration in consumer price inflation in the month of June.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is up 29.70 points or 0.16% at 18,967.41. The index touched a low of 18,845.15 earlier in the session.

The Health Care Capped Index is up nearly 7%. Canopy Growth Corp (WEED.TO) is soaring 18.5%. Tilray Inc (TLRY.TO) is climbing 13.5% and Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO) is surging 11.3%, Cronos Group (CRON.TO) is rising 8.5% and Bausch Health Companies (BHC.TO) is advancing 5.4%.

The Information Technology Capped Index is up 4% with stocks rising sharply, tracking gains in Nasdaq after Netflix's upbeat forecast. Hut 8 Mining (HUT.TO), extending recent gains, is up as much as 9.5%. Lightspeed Commerce (LSPD.TO) is surging 9% and Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) is moving up 8.7%.

Tecsys (TCS.TO), Dye & Durham (DND.TO), Nuvei Corp (NVEI.TO), Magnet Forensics (MAGT.TO), BlackBerry (BB.TO), Enghouse Systems (ENGH.TO), Constellation Software (CSU.TO), Kinaxis (KXS.TO) and Quarterhill (QTRH.TO) are also up sharply.

Data from Statistics Canada showed the country's annual inflation rate accelerated to 8.1% in June of 2022, the highest since January 1983. However, that was below market expectations of 8.4%.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.7%, below expectations of a 0.9% increase and down from the 1.4% jump in May.

Core consumer prices in Canada increased 6.2% in June of 2022 over the same month in the previous year. It is the highest core inflation rate since at least 1984.

Another data from Statistics Canada showed producer prices in Canada fell 1.1% month-over-month in June, following an upwardly revised 1.8% increase in May. It was the first slowdown in producer prices since August of last year. Year-on-year, producer prices rose by 14.3% in June, slowing from a 15.7% jump in the previous month.

The Raw Materials Price Index in Canada edged down 0.1% on a monthly basis in June of 2022, after rising 2.7% in May. Raw materials prices increased 32.4% in June, slowing slightly from a 37.6% increase a month earlier.