Canada’s main stock index extended gains for the fifth straight session on Thursday, aided by energy and industrial shares, although sentiment remained fragile amid increasing concerns over slowing global economic growth.
At 9:41 a.m. ET, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 134.97 points, or 0.66%, at 20,518.72, set for its longest winning streak since March 22.
The industrials sector rose 1.5%, with Richelieu Hardware, up 4.1%, leading the gains, after brokerage CIBC upgraded the stock to “outperform”.
The energy sector climbed 0.9% as oil prices rose, extending a cautious rally this week on signs of tight supply while the European Union wrangles with Hungary over plans to ban imports from Russia, the world’s second-largest crude exporter.
The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, lost 0.2% as gold prices dropped, while copper prices fell for a third day in a row and tin slumped to a one-week low as a gloomy economic outlook for top metals consumer China fanned concerns about a global recession.
Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reported diverging quarterly performances with the former two comfortably beating expectations while the latter missed, all driven largely by provisions for credit losses (PCLs).
RBC and Toronto-Dominion gained 0.5% and 2.4%, respectively, while CIBC shed 0.9%.
The financials sector gained 0.9%.
“The second day of Canadian bank earnings has brought mixed, but generally positive news in terms of results and dividends,” said Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management.
“Generally speaking, as with yesterday’s reports, growth from traditional banking operations was partly offset by weaker capital markets results.”
On the economic front, Canadian retail sales were unchanged in March from February at C$60.09 billion ($46.91 billion), as lower sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers offset gains in all other subsectors, Statistics Canada said. Sales were seen to grow 0.8% in April, the agency said in a flash estimate.
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