Canadian Market Up Firmly At Noon As Technology, Energy Stocks Rally

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market is up firmly in positive territory around noon on Wednesday thanks to some hectic buying in the technology sector on encouraging earnings. Energy stocks are contributing as well to market's smart rebound.

Several stocks from other sectors too have moved higher on bargain hunting and short-covering.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which climbed nearly 290 points to 22,267.16 earlier in the session, was up 163.83 points or 0.75% at 22,143.19 slightly before noon.

The Information Technology Index is up 5.2%, thanks to heavy buying in Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) after the company's upbeat earnings update. The stock is soaring nearly 23%. Shopify reported second-quarter revenue of $2.05 billion, up from $1.69 billion a year earlier.

Lightspeed Commerce (LSPD.TO) is up 2.3%, while Kinaxis Inc (KXS.TO), Docebo Inc (DCBO.TO), Constellation Software (CSU.TO) and Open Text Corp (OTEX.TO) are gaining 1 to 1.5%.

The Energy Capped Index is up nearly 3%. Suncor Energy (SU.TO) is up 5.8%. Suncor reported net earnings of $1,568 million for the second-quarter, compared to $1,879 million in the year-ago quarter.

International Petroleum Corp (IPCO.TO), Tourmaline Oil Corp (TOU.TO), Vermilion Energy (VET.TO), Advantage Oil & Gas (AAV.TO), Secure Energy Services (SES.TO), Africa Oil Corp (AOI.TO), CES Energy Solutions (CEU.TO) and Paramount Resources (POU.TO) are up 2.3 to 4%.

Air Canada (AC.TO) reported net income of $410 million or $1.04 per share for the second quarter, significantly lower than $838 million or $2.34 per share in the same quarter a year ago. Excluding one-time items, adjusted earnings were $369 million or $0.98 per share, that beat the analysts' average estimate of $0.92 per share. The stock is down by about 1.25%.

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (GWO.TO) is down 1.3% despite higher earnings. The company reported net earnings of $1,005 million for the second-quarter of this year, up 77% from a year ago.

Finning International Inc (FTT.TO) is gaining nearly 1% after the company said it posted a net income of $144 million in the seond-quarter, down 3% compared to the year-ago quarter's net income of $148 million.

Nuvei Corporation (NVEI.TO) reported adjusted net income of $62.6 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, compared to $58.1 million a year ago. The stock is down marginally.

Stella-Jones Inc. (SJ.TO) is down 4.2% after the company reported second-quarter net income of $110 million, up from $100 million in the second quarter of the previous year.

On the economic front, a report from the Ivey Business School said the Ivey Purchasing Managers Index in Canada eased to 57.6 in July 2024 from 62.5 in the prior month and missing forecasts of 60. This marks the 12th consecutive month of solid economic growth, though it has slowed.