The Canadian market made gains on Thursday, with increases in energy and materials stocks due to strong commodity prices. Confidence in earnings reports and hope for a potential rate cut announcement from the Federal Reserve in the second quarter have also been factors boosting investor sentiment.
At just before midday, the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index was up by 237.58 points or 1.14%, standing at 21,126.98.
New figures from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation indicate a 10% monthly decrease in housing starts in Canada, with the number falling to 223,589 units in January. Meanwhile, a report from Statistics Canada shows a 0.7% month-over-month decrease in the country's manufacturing sales, which came in at CAD 71.2 billion in December 2023. However, this decline was not as steep as the anticipated 0.6% fall. In contrast, manufacturing sales saw an upwardly revised increase of 1.5% in November.
In the energy sector, the Energy Capped Index saw increases of 3.15%. Noteworthy performers include Birchcliff Energy, with a 6.5% gain, and Cenovus Energy, which saw a 6.3% increase. Cenovus Energy reported a net income of $743 million for the final quarter of 2023, despite slipping from a previous $784 million in the same quarter the previous year.
Other energy stocks that made gains include Athabasca Oil Corp, Baytex Energy, Kelt Exploration, Crescent Point Energy, Whitecap Resources, Vermilion Energy, MEG Energy and Suncor Energy, all seeing rises between 3.5 to 6%.
In the materials sector, the Materials Capped Index rose by 1.5%. Seabridge Gold Inc saw the largest surge at 17.3%, while other significant gains were made by Ssr Mining, Kinross Gold, Equinox Gold Corp, Pan American Silver Corp, Dundee Precious Metals and Lundin Gold, each moving 3 to 4% upward.
Manulife Financial topped the Financials Index with a 6.3% rise, following the announcement of a fourth-quarter net income of CAD 1.7 billion, significantly up from CAD 915 million in the same period the previous year.
Other financial institutions made gains too, including Goeasy, Fairfax Financial Holdings, Laurentian Bank, National Bank of Canada, and Bank of Montreal, all seeing rises between 0.8 to 1.2%.
Canadian Tire Corporation reported a fourth-quarter net income of CAD 197.2 million, down from CAD 562.6 million in the previous year, yet the company's shares saw a slight increase. Over the entire year, the company reported a net income of CAD 339.1 million, notably lower than the corresponding figure of CAD 1,182.8 million for 2022.
In the food sector, Mty Food Group reported a fourth-quarter net income of $16.4 million, a substantial 131% increase from the $7.13 million earnings in the same quarter of the previous year, although its stock price fell by over 12%.
Lastly, Mullen Group endured a drop of over 5% in their shares owing to poor fourth-quarter results, with net income dropping sharply to $29.4 million from $53.6 million in the same period the previous year.
