TSX Ends On Firm Note

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market ended on a firm note on Thursday, led by gains in technology, healthcare, industrials and consumer staples sectors.

Strong fourth quarter results and upbeat revenue guidance from U.S. chipmaker NVIDIA buoyed up technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which opened with a positive gap of nearly 90 points at 21,259.99 and advanced to 21,365.35, ended the day's session with a gain of 145.70 points or 0.69% at 21,318.08.

Technology stock Celestica Inc (CLS.TO) soared more than 12%. Computer Modelling Group (CMG.TO) climbed 8.1%. CGI Group Inc (GIB.A.TO), Enghouse Systems (ENGH.TO), Open Text Corp (OTEX.TO), Quarterhill (QTRH.TO), Alithya Group (ALYA.TO), Bitfarms (BITF.TO) and Constellation Software (CSU.TO) gained 1 to 2.35%.

Healthcare stock Bausch Health Companies (BHC.TO) rallied nearly 7.5%. The company reported earnings per share of $1.15 for the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to EPS of $1.02 in the year-ago quarter.

Sienna Senior Living (SIA.TO) gained 2.3%, riding on strong fourth quarter results.

Industrials shares Mullen Group (MTL.TO), Tfi International (TFII.TO), Waste Connections (WCN.TO), Element Fleet (EFN.TO), Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO), Russel Metals (RUS.TO) and WSP Global (WSP.TO) gained 1.5 to 2%.

In the financials sector, Nuvei Corp (NVEI.TO), EQB Inc (EQB.TO), Brookfield Asset Management (BAM.TO), Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO), Sun Life Financial (SLF.TO), Power Corporation of Canada (POW.TO) and National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) ended higher by 1 to 2.6%.

Loblaw (L.TO) gained 3.5%. The company reported adjusted net earnings were $630 million for the fourth-quarter of 2023, an increase of $55 million, or 9.6%.

On the economic front, retail sales in Canada increased 0.9% in December, data from Statistics Canada showed. Year-on-year, retail sales surged 2.9% in December. According to preliminary estimates, retail sales in Canada likely fell 0.4% month-over-month in January 2024.