TSX Ends On Strong Note

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market ended on a strong note on Tuesday, led by gains in healthcare, energy, technology and financials shares.

The undertone was quite positive right through the day's session amid easing concerns about banking turmoil thanks to the coordinated steps taken by governments and the central banks to rescue troubled U.S. and European banks.

Investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy. The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rate by 25 basis points.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a gain of 135.49 points or 0.69% at 19,654.92 after scaling a high of 19,734.68.

The annual inflation rate in Canada fell to 5.2% in February of 2023, the least since January 2022, slowing from the 5.9% in the previous month amid significant base-year effects.

Core consumer prices in Canada increased 0.5% from a month earlier in February of 2023, following a 0.3% rise in January.

Hut 8 Mining Corp (HUT.TO) soared more than 9% on huge volumes.

Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO) surged nearly 7.5%. Baytex Energy (BTE.TO), Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO), Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO), Athabasca Oil Corporation (ATH.TO) and Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) gained 3 to 5%.

Suncor Energy (SU.TO), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO), Lundin Mining Corporation (LUN.TO), Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO), Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp (AQN.TO), TC Energy Corporation (TRP.TO), Manulife Financial Corporation (MFC.TO) and National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) gained 1 to 2.8%.

Precision Drilling Corporation (PD.TO) rallied 8.7%. Canadian Utilities (CU.X.TO) and Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC.TO) surged 6.6% and 6.2%, respectively.

Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO), Nuvei Corp (NVEI.TO), Bombardier Inc (BBD.A.TO), goeasy (GSY.TO), Kinaxis Inc (KXS.TO), Cargojet (CJT.TO), Nutrien (NTR.TO) and BRP Inc (DOO.TO) also posted strong gains.

Fortis Inc (FTS.TO), Franco-Nevada Corporation (FNV.TO), Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO), Teck Resources (TECK.A.TO), Loblaw Companies (L.TO) and Stantec (STN.TO) ended sharply lower.