(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market ended on a high note on Thursday, coming back strongly after suffering a severe setback in the previous session.
Healthcare, materials, industrial and consumer discretionary stocks moved up sharply. Several stocks from financial section too closed with strong gains. A few stocks from energy space attracted interest.
The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a gain of 232.77 points or 1.34% at 17,657.20. The index, which opened with a positive gap of over 140 points at 17,563.24, hit a high of 17,711.89 in the session.
On Wednesday, the index ended down 354.98 points or 2% at 17,424.43.
The Capped Healthcare Index climbed 3.78%. Trillium Therapeutics (TRIL.TO) gained 7.5%, Canopy Growth Corporation (WEED.TO) and Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (AUP.TO) gained 6.7% and 6.6%, respectively. Bausch Health Companies (BHC.TO) ended stronger by about 3.6%.
Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO) gained 4.3%. The company announced that it has entered into a strategic agreement with Australia-based medical cannabis company MedReleaf Australia. The two companies have signed a five-year supply agreement, under which MedReleaf will act as the exclusive supplier in Australia for Aurora's MedReleaf, CanniMed and Aurora brands.
The Capped Materials Index gained nearly 3.5%. First Majestic Silver Corp (FR.TO) soared nearly 22%, Fortuna Silver (FVI.TO) climbed 14% and Pan American Silver Corp (PAAS.TO) gained more than 11%. Several other stocks, including First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO), Wheaton Precious Metals (FM.TO), Lundin Gold (LUG.TO) and MAG Silver Corp (MAG.TO) also ended with impressive gains.
Air Canada (AC.TO), up 5.5%, was the top gainer in the Industrial section. Canadian Pacific Railway (CP.TO) gained 5.1%, while Ats Automation (ATA.TO), Cargojet (CJT.TO) and Cae Inc. (CAE.TO) gained 3.3 to 3.7%. Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO), Thomson Reuters (TRI.TO) and Finning International (FTT.TO) also moved up sharply.
Among consumer discretionary stocks, Magna International (MG.TO) gained nearly 3.5%. Gildan Activewear (GIL.TO) and Restaurant Brands International (QSR.TO) moved up 3% and 2.5%, respectively.
In the financial section, Manulife Financial (MFC.TO), Sun Life Financial (SLF.TO), Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO), Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO), Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) and Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) gained 1 to 2%.
On the economic front, data from Statistics Canada showed the total value of building permits in Canada fell 4.1% to C$ 9.1 billion in December 2020, compared to market expectations of a 5% decline and following a downwardly revised 12.5% surge in November.
Another data from Statistics Canada showed average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees in Canada grew 6.6% year-on-year to C$ 1,110 in November, following a downwardly revised 5.6% gain in the previous month.
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