Canadian Market Up Sharply On All-round Buying

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks are up Thursday morning, riding on some encouraging quarterly earnings announcements, and easing concerns about the state of the U.S. economy after data showed a bigger than expected drop in U.S. jobless claims last week.

Technology, healthcare, consumer discretionary, energy and materials shares are among the most impressive gainers. Several stocks the rest of the sectors are also up with strong gains.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index was up 301.99 points or about 1.4% at 22182.94 a little before noon.

The Information Technology Capped Index is rising 2.35%. The Healthcare and Consumer Discretionary indexes are up 2.1% and 2.05%, respectively, while the Energy Capped Index is gaining about 1.8%.

The indices tracking the performances of materials, consumer staples, industrials, financials, communications, utilities and real estate sectors are up 1 to 1.5%.

Canadian Tire Corporation Limited (CTC.A.TO) is up 5.8% after the company reported net income of C$198.8 million or C$3.56 per share for the second quarter, significantly higher than C$99.4 million or C$1.76 per share in the same quarter a year ago, primarily due to exceptional items.

Excluding one-time items, normalized net income was C$223.5 million or C$3.56 per share, that beat the analysts' average estimate of C$2.42 per share. Revenue was $4.133 billion, down 2.9% from $4.256 billion in the same period last year.

Keyera Corp (KEY.TO) reported net earnings of C$142.18 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, compared to net earnings of C$158.94 million in the year-ago quarter. The stock is up 1.7%.

Quebecor Inc. (QBR.B.TO) is gaining 3.5% after reporting adjusted net income of $205.1 million for the second quarter, up $22.8 million or 12.5% from a year ago.

Primo Water Corporation (PRMW.TO) reported adjusted net income of US$41.8 million for the second-quarter, compared to US$31.2 million a year ago. Despite higher earnings, the stock is down by about 2%.

Boyd Group Services Inc. (BYD.TO) is rising nearly 6%. The company announced that adjusted net earnings decreased to $11.9 million in the second quarter of this year, compared with $27.0 million in the same period of 2023.

Maple Leaf Foods (MFI.TO) shares are down nearly 8% as the company reported a loss of $26 million ($0.21 per basic share) for the second quarter, compared to a loss of $54 million ($0.44 loss per basic share) last year.

Premium Brands Holdings Corporation (PBH.TO) reported adjusted earnings of $56.9 million for the second quarter, compared to $56.3 million in the year-ago quarter. The stock is down by about 0.6%.

ATS Corporation (ATS.TO) is rising 6.5% after the company reported a net income of $35.3 million for the first quarter of its current financial year, compared to $47.7 million a year ago.

Linamar Corporation (LNR.TO) reported net earnings of $178.5 million for the first quarter of its current financial year, compared to $117.0 million in the year-ago quarter. The stock is gaining about 0.75%.