TSX Ends Higher For 4th Straight Day

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market ended on a firm note on Tuesday, gaining for a fourth straight session, thanks to strong gains in materials sector.

The mood, however, remained somewhat cautious ahead of the Bank of Canada's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday, and some crucial economic data from the U.S., including a report on consumer and producer price inflation.

The Canadian central bank is widely expected to hold interest rates unchanged. The focus is on the bank's statement for clues about the outlook for interest-rate trajectory.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended up 110.29 points or 0.53% at 21,034.59, slightly off the day's high.

The Materials Capped Index surged 2.07%. Iamgold Corp (IMG.TO) soared more than 15%. Hudbay Minerals (HBM.TO), Wesdome Gold Mines (WDO.TO), Lundin Mining Corp (LUN.TO), First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO), Torex Gold Resources (TXG.TO), Capstone Mining Corp (CS.TO), B2Gold Corp (BTO.TO), Ivanhoe Mines (IVN.TO) and Equinox Gold Corp (EQX.TO) gained 3 to 7%.

Consumer discretionary stocks Sleep Country Canada Holdings (ZZZ.TO) and Dollarama Inc (DOL.TO) climbed 2.85% and 2.3%, respectively. Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC.A.TO) and Aritzia Inc (ATZ.TO) gained 1.3% and 1.2%, respectively.

Consumer staples shares Metro Inc (MRU.TO), Empire Company (EMP.A.TO), Loblaw Co (L.TO), Primo Water Corp (PRMW.TO) and Premium Brands Holdings Corp (PBH.TO) ended higher by 0.8 to 1.25%.

In the energy sector, Kelt Exploration (KEL.TO) and Advantage Oil & Gas (AAV.TO) gained 5.7% and 5.4%, respectively. Secure Energy Services (SES.TO), Arc Resources (ARX.TO), Tourmaline Oil Corp (TOU.TO) and International Petroleum Corp (IPCO.TO) also ended sharply higher.

BRP Inc (DOO.TO) and Celestica Inc (CLS.TO) ended down 4.3% and 3.4%, respectively. Wajax Corporation (WJX.TO), Russel Metals (RUS.TO), West Fraser Timber (WFG.TO) and Stella-Jones (SJ.TO) lost 2 to 3%.

In economic news, data from Statistics Canada showed new home prices in Canada remained unchanged month-on-month in December, following a 0.2% fall in November. On a yearly basis, new home prices decreased by 0.9% in December.