The Canadian market is experiencing a rise this Tuesday morning, primarily driven by the strong performance of the energy and materials sectors. However, the technology stocks are struggling a bit.
A sense of caution is evident among investors as they eagerly await the announcement of Canada's central bank's monetary policy. The bank is not expected to change its main rate, which currently sits at 5%. A lot of attention is also geared towards the bank's views on the economy and the possibility of any changes in the interest rates.
The considerable index, S&P/TSX Composite Index opened just a tad below at 21,517.91, rose to 21,622.99, and then slightly fell. It currently sits at 21,556.28, signifying a gain of 25.21 points or a 0.12% increase.
According to a report by S&P Global, February saw an increase in the Composite PMI in Canada, marking the ninth straight month of a slump in private sector activity. Similarly, the country's services sector also experienced a decline for the eighth consecutive month.
In the energy sector, Advantage Oil & Gas and Topaz Energy have seen increases of 3.85% and 3.3% respectively. Other companies, including Paramount Resources, Canadian Natural Resources, Imperial Oil, Nuvista Energy, Peyto Exploration, Shawcor, Vermilion Energy, and Precision Drilling Corp also saw gains ranging from 1% to 2.3%.
In the Materials Index, Oceanagold Corp, Dundee Precious Metals, New Gold, Iamgold Corp, Ssr Mining, Eldorado Gold, and Torex Gold Resources have all noticed an increase of 3% to 5%.
Amidst struggling tech stocks, Softchoice Inc soars by over 10%. Despite a decrease in its adjusted net income for 2023's final quarter, it has still managed to do well. On the other hand, Kinaxis Inc and Converge Technology Solutions have witnessed a decrease by 5% and 4.8% respectively. Other companies such as Hut 8 Corp, Shopify Inc, Lightspeed Commerce, and Descartes Systems Group are also trending downwards by 3% to 4.5%.
Finally, in the consumer discretionary stock, Pet Valu Holdings is down by 3.4%, despite reporting a 25.6% rise in its adjusted Net Income for the fourth-quarter of 2023 from the previous year.
