On Friday, the Canadian market extended its positive momentum for the seventh consecutive session, concluding slightly higher, buoyed primarily by gains in the materials sector.
Improved sentiment was driven by alleviating concerns regarding U.S. economic growth and persistent optimism surrounding potential interest rate reductions by the Federal Reserve.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed with an increase of 21.89 points, or 0.1%, settling at 23,054.61. The index fluctuated within a narrow range, trading between 22,984.44 and 23,070.60 throughout the session. Over the week, the index rose approximately 3.3%.
Notable gainers included Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO), Sprott Inc (SII.TO), Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM.TO), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO), Franco-Nevada Corporation (FNV.TO), Morguard Corporation (MRC.TO), and Canadian Tire Corporation, all of which recorded increases ranging from 1% to 2.2%.
Conversely, Celestica Inc (CLS.TO), Cogeco Communications (CCA.TO), West Fraser Timber (WFG.TO), Toromont Industries (TIH.TO), Precision Drilling Corporation (PD.TO), Stella-Jones (SJ.TO), TerraVest Industries (TVK.TO), EQB Inc (EQB.TO), FFI International (TIF.TO), Cargojet Inc (CJT.TO), and Waste Connections (WCN.TO) saw declines between 1% and 2.6%.
On the economic front, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported that housing starts in Canada surged by 16% month-over-month to 279,500 units in July, marking the highest figure since June 2023.
Additionally, a report from Statistics Canada indicated that manufacturing sales fell by 2.1% month-over-month in June 2024, slightly better than the preliminary estimate of a 2.6% decrease. This followed a downwardly revised increase of 0.2% in the preceding month.
