Canadian Market Modestly Higher In Cautious Trade

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market is up in positive territory Friday afternoon, and looks set to end the day's session modestly higher thanks to sustained buying in materials, healthcare and consumer staples sectors.

Strong earnings updates from U.S. tech majors Alphabet and Microsoft help outweigh concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which dropped to 21,907.48, was was up 80.60 points or 0.37% at 21,965.98 a little while ago.

The Materials Capped Index is gaining 1.7%. Capstone Mining Corp (CS.TO), Ero Copper (ERO.TO) and First Quantum Minerals (FM.To) are up 7.8 to 8.1%. Ivanhoe Mines (IVN.TO), Equinox Gold Corp (EQX.TO), Hudbay Minerals (HBM.TO), Filo Mining Corp (FIL.TO) and Lundin Mining (LUN.TO) are up 3.5 to 6.3%.

Eldorado Gold (ELD.TO) is gaining more than 3%. Eldorado reported adjusted net earnings of $55.2 million for the first quarter of 2024, compared to adjusted net earnings of $16.7 million in the year-ago quarter.

Healthcare stocks Tilray Inc (TLRY.TO), Bausch Health Companies (BHC.TO) and Sienna Senior Living (SIA.TO) are up 1.7%, 1.6% and 1.2%, respectively. Chartwell Retirement Residences (CSH.UN.TO) is gaining about 0.75%.

In the consumer staples section, Maple Leaf Foods (MFI.TO) is up 2%. Saputo Inc (SAP.TO), Jamieson Wellness (JWEL.TO), Premium Brands Holdings Corp (PBH.TO), Alimentation Couche-Tard (ATD.TO) and Metro Inc (MRU.TO) are up 1 to 1.3%.

Imperial Oil Limited (IMO.TO) reported first-quarter net income of $1,195 million, compared to net income of $1,248 million in the year-ago quarter. The stock is down 0.8%.

TFI International Inc (TFII.TO) is down by about 3.3%. The company reported first quarter net income of $92.8 million compared to $111.9 million in Q1 2023. Adjusted net income came in at $105.5 million in the first quarter of 2024, compared to $116.5 million a year earlier.

In economic news, a report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said its business barometer in Canada, an index reflecting 12-month forward expectations for business performance in the country, dropped to 47.5 in April, from an upwardly revised 52.9 in the prior month.