Shares in technology, materials, energy and industrials are on the rise in the Canadian market, just before noon on Thursday. This increase comes as investors review the latest economic data from Canada and the U.S.
The key S&P/TSX Composite Index, which earlier descended to 21,033.98 from a high of 21,120.70, had risen by 51.70 points or 0.25%, reaching 21,077.48 just before noon.
Sentiment was lifted by stronger than expected U.S. economic growth reported by the Commerce department, along with a slowdown in consumer price growth in the fourth quarter of 2023.
On the Canadian front, a report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) stated that the Business Barometer in Canada, an index reflecting 12-month forward expectations for the country's business performance, had slightly increased to 49 in January 2024 from 47 in December. This is the highest reading in five months.
According to data from Statistics Canada, average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees in Canada increased by 4.1% year-on-year to $1,228 in November 2023. This is a slight increase from the revised growth of 3.9% in the previous month.
However, additional data from Statistics Canada indicated that Canada's manufacturing sales likely dipped 0.6% from the previous month in December 2023, negating the 1.2% rise from the previous month.
Among the gainers, Bombardier Inc leads, increasing 4.25%, closely followed by Celestica Inc and Quebecor Inc with 3.7%, and 3.6% gains respectively. Also, Docebo Inc. advanced by 2.7%, while ATS Corporation, Stella-Jones Inc, Cargojet, FirstService Corporation, Onex Corporation, Premium Brands Holdings Corporation, Kinaxis Inc and Goeasy saw increases between 1.2 to 2%.
On the other hand, Cameco Corporation, Parkland Corporation, Precision Drilling Corporation, Nuvei Corporation, and Nutrien experienced dips ranging from 1.9 to 2.5%.
