Canada’s main stock index rose on Thursday led by gains in cannabis stocks, while investors cheered upbeat sentiment on Wall Street from robust earnings updates.
At 9:57 a.m. ET, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 79.93 points, or 0.39%, at 20,446.65, snapping a three-day losing streak.
The healthcare stocks led gains on the index, up 1.9% as the Bipartisan Senate and House lawmakers in the U.S. reintroduced the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act to free up banking services for the cannabis sector.
Heavy-weight financials rose 1.0%, despite lingering fears over health of the global banking sector.
“Whatever the vicissitudes of short term market moves are, Canadian banks have very significant dividends that are quite secure. They don’t cut dividends and they’re good yield vehicles. So there is an opportunity there,” said Thomas S. Caldwell, chairman at Caldwell Securities Ltd.
Materials, which includes precious and base metals miners, limited gains on the index, down 0.2% as spot gold prices fell against the dollar.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock indexes gained as better-than-expected results from Meta Platforms, Eli Lilly and Comcast outweighed data showing that the U.S. economy slowed more than anticipated in the first quarter.
The TSX has been subdued in the week as investors assess a flurry of earnings in Canada and the U.S. following the banking sector crisis that started last month.
In company news, Teck Resources added 0.9% after Glencore Plc said its takeover bid for Teck still stands, after the Canadian miner scrapped a restructuring plan.
Suncor Energy added 2.0% after buying Canadian operations of French oil and gas major TotalEnergies for $4.1 billion, with potential additional payments of up to $450 million.
Business jet maker Bombardier Inc swung to a first-quarter adjusted profit, helped by increased deliveries of its pricier planes. Its shares were, however, down 4.9%.
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