Canadian Market Modestly Higher; Materials, Consumer Discretionary Stocks Gain

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market is modestly higher Thursday afternoon, recovering after a fall from higher levels. Materials, healthcare, industrials and consumer discretionary stocks are among the notable gainers.

Technology shares are down on selling pressure, weighed down by dissapointing earnings updates from several U.S. tech majors.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which recovered to 21,189.26 after a weak start, dropped 20,980.93 around mid morning, before climbing higher again. The index was up 44.19 points or 0.21% at 21,066.07 a little while ago.

First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO), up 6.3%, is the top gainer in the Materials Capped Index. New Gold (NGD.TO), Iamgold Corp (IMG.TO), Iamgold Corp (IMG.TO), Wesdome Gold Mines (WDO.TO), K92 Mining Inc (KNT.TO), Lundin Gold Inc (LUG.TO), Eldorado Gold (ELD.TO) and Nutrien (NTR.TO) are up 3.5 to 6.2%.

Healthcare stocks Tilray Inc (TLRY.TO) and Bausch Health Companies (BHC.TO) are up 3.3% and 1.5%, respectively.

Consumer discretionary stocks Canada Goose Holdings (GOOS.TO) and Aritzia Inc (ATZ.TO) are up 5.1% and 4.3%, respectively. Gildan Activewear (GIL.TO) and Spin Master Corp (TOY.TO) both are gaining about 2.5%. Sleep Country Canada Goose Holdings (GOOS.TO) is advancing 1.2%, while Restaurant Brands International (QSR.TO) and Dollarama Inc (DOL.TO) are up nearly 1%.

Industrials shares Snc-Lavalin Group (ATRL.TO), Boyd Group Services (BYD.TO), Ballard Power Systems (BLDP.TO) and Richelieu Hardware (RCH.TO) are up 2 to 3%.

Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI.A.TO) is up 1.3%. The company reported adjusted net income of C$630 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2023, compared to adjusted net income of $554 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The company announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend totaling 50 cents per share on each of its outstanding Class B Non-Voting shares ("Class B Shares") and Class A Voting shares.

Canada Goose Holdings Inc. (GOOS.TO) is gaining 5.5% after reporting adjusted net income of $138.6 million or $1.37 per diluted share for the third-quarter, compared with an adjusted net income of $134.5 million or $1.27 per diluted share in the prior year period.

Real Matters Inc. (REAL.TO) is down 6.7%. The company reported first-quarter net loss of $3.6 million compared with a net loss of $4.6 million in the first quarter of the previous financial year.

On the economic front, a report from S&P Global showed an improvement in Canadian manufacturing activity. The S&P Global Canada Manufacturing PMI improved to 48.3 in January from 45.4 in the preivous month, marking the slowest contraction since October.