TSX Ends On Firm Note; Technology, Energy Stocks Rally

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market closed on a firm note on Tuesday, aided by strong gains in technology, energy and financials shares.

Several stocks from materials and real estate sectors too posted impressive gains.

The market started off on a somewhat subdued note, but gained in strength as the day progressed.

Investors, in addition to digesting the latest batch of economic data, looked ahead to the Bank of Canada's interest rate decision.

The BoC, which is scheduled to announce its monetary policy on Wednesday, is widely expected to hold its key interest rate at 4.5%.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended higher by 123.98 points or 0.62% at 20,055.60.

Technology stock Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) climbed nearly 6%. Bitfarms (BITF.TO), Coveo Solutions (CVO.TO), Sylogist (SYZ.TO), Converge Technology Solutions (CTS.TO), Lightspeed Commerce (LSPD.TO), Kinaxis Inc (KXS.TO) and Docebo Inc (DCBO.TO) gained 2 to 4%.

Energy stocks Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO), PrairieSky Royalty (PSK.TO), Arc Resources (ARX.TO), Imperial Oil (IMO.TO), Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO), Tourmaline Oil Corp (TOU.TO), Enerplus Corp (ERF.TO) and Suncor Energy (SU.TO) climbed 1 to 2.2%.

In the financials section, Onex Corp (ONEX.TO) surged 4%. Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO), Laurentian Bank (LB.TO), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) and Nuvei Corp (NVEI.TO) ended higher by 1.7 to 2%.

Real estate stocks Colliers International (CIGI.TO), Allied Properties Real Estate (AP.UN.TO) and Northwest Healthcare Prop (NWH.UN.TO) gained 1.8 to 2%, while Storagevault Canada (SVI.TO) surged about 4.3%.

The Ivey Purchasing Managers Index in Canada dropped further to 53.5 in May 2023, from 56.6 in the prior month. The reading indicates the Canadian economic activity slowed for a second month and the most in three months.

Data from Statistics Canada showed the total value of building permits in Canada shrank by 18.8% from a month earlier to $9.6 billion in April, after an upwardly revised 12.3% growth in the previous month.