The Canadian market surged to new record highs on Friday, driven by investor enthusiasm amidst growing optimism about potential interest rate cuts from several central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Significant gains were observed across sectors like consumer discretionary, consumer staples, technology, real estate, and financials. Stocks in the materials, utilities, communications, and industrials sectors also received robust support.
The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index rose to 22,737.20, marking an increase of 193.07 points, or approximately 0.84%.
Aritzia Inc. (ATZ.TO) saw a remarkable 15% rise after reporting an adjusted net income of $25.0 million for the first quarter, a staggering 122.7% increase compared to the same period last year.
Cogeco Inc. (CGO.TO) gained 4.8% following the announcement of diluted earnings per share of $1.97 for the third quarter, a significant improvement from a loss of $2.22 per share in the year-ago quarter.
Shares of Cogeco Communications (CCA.TO) climbed 4.3%. Other notable gainers include Dayforce (DAY.TO), BRP Inc. (DOO.TO), Goeasy (GSY.TO), Constellation Software (CSU.TO), FirstService Corporation (FSV.TO), Kinaxis Inc. (KXS.TO), CGI Inc. (GIB.A.TO), Boyd Group Services (BYD.TO), WSP Global (WSP.TO), and Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO), with increases ranging from 1.3% to 3.5%.
On the economic front, data from Statistics Canada revealed that the total value of building permits in Canada fell by 12.2% month-on-month to $11.7 billion in May, following a revised 23.4% increase in the previous month.
