Canadian Market Up Sharply On All-round Buying, Set To End On Upbeat Note

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market is high up in positive territory Friday afternoon with stocks across the board scoring impressive gains on sustained buying interest.

After finishing at a new 52-week low on Thursday, the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index looks well on course to end today's session on an upbeat note. At 19,086.02, the index is up 368.90 or 1.97%.

Healthcare and technology stocks are up sharply, extending gains from the previous session. Several stocks from energy, materials, consumer and industrials sections are also up with handsome gains. There are sharp gains for many stocks from real estate, utilities, communications and financials sectors as well.

The Health Care Capped Index is climbing 5.3%. Bausch Health Companies (BHC.TO) tops the list of gainers, surging more than 17%, reacting to news that Joseph Papa has resigned from the board of directors effective immediately.

Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO) is soaring 8.7%, Cronos Group (CRON.TO) is gaining 4.7%, Well Health Technologies (WELL.TO) is up 3.7% and Canopy Growth Corp (WEED.TO) is advancing 3.2%.

The Information Technology Capped Index is up 2.85%. Docebo Inc (DCBO.TO), Tecsys Inc (TCS.TO) and Haivision Systems (HAI.TO) are up 9.5%, 8% and 7%, respectively. Kinaxis Inc (KXS.TO), Sylogist (SYZ.TO), Lightspeed Commerce (LSPD.TO) and Hut 8 Mining (HUT.TO) are up 4.2 to 5%.

BlackBerry (BB.TO) is up 5.5% after reporting stronger than expected first quarter revenue thanks to growth in its auto products and cybersecurity services segments. The company said that revenue from its internet-of-things segment that includes its auto products grew the fastest in the first quarter at 19%, with a gross margin of 84%.

The Energy Capped Index is up nearly 3.5%. Baytex Energy (BTE.TO) is up with a hefty gain of 10%. MEG Energy (MEG.TO), Tamarack Valley (TVE.TO), Freehold Royalties (FRU.TO), Vermilion Energy (VET.TO), Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO), Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO), Suncor Energy (SU.TO) and Whitecap Resources (WCP.TO) are gaining 4 to 7%.

The Materials Capped Index is up nearly 2.5%. First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO), up 10.3%, is the biggest gainer in the section. Endeavour Silver Corp (EDR.TO), Ivanhoe Mines (IVN.TO), Labrador Iron Ore (LIF.TO), Methanex Corp (MX.TO) and Hudbay Minerals (HBM.TO) are up 5 to 6%.

On the economic front, data from Statistics Canada showed average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees in Canada rose for the eleventh consecutive month in April, increasing by 4% year-on-year to C$ 1,170.1.