TSX Ends Higher Again

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks ended on a positive note on Thursday, with gains from industrials and information technology stocks driving the benchmark higher.

The benchmark S&P/TSX ended up 65.61 points or 0.4% at 16,543.01, after scaling a low of 16,463.02 and a high of 16,564.40 intraday. On Wednesday, the index ended down 41.84 points or 0.25% at 16,477.40.

Among bank stocks, Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) and Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) ended modestly higher, while Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO), Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) and National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) ended flat.

In the healthcare space,Canopy Growth Corporation (WEED.TO) declined more than 3.5%, Aurora Cannabis Inc. (ACB.TO) ended 3.3% down and Aphria Inc. (APH.TO) lost 4.3%.

The capped industrials index advanced by about 1.2%. Canadian Pacific Railway (CP.TO) gained 2.4% after reporting second quarter revenues of $1.75 billion, an increase of 7% from last year. The company reported diluted earnings per share of $3.04, or $3.16 on an adjusted diluted EPS basis.

Among other gainers in the industrials space, Bombardier Inc. (BBD.TO) gained 2.1%, Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) moved up 1.6% and Waste Connections Inc. (WCN.TO) ended 1.7% up.

The capped materials index shed about 0.7%. First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) lost over 7%, Teck Resources (TECK.B.TO) declined by about 2.5%, Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (WPM.TO) ended 1.5% down.

Energy stocks turned in a mixed performance. The capped energy index declined marginally. Suncor Energy (SU.TO), Encana (ECA.TO) and PrairieSky Royalty (PSK.TO) gained 0.8 - 1.2%, while Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO), Imperial Oil Limited (IMO.TO), Husky Energy (HSE.TO) declined by 0.6% - 1.3%.

The information technology index gained 1.1%. BlackBerry (BB.TO) climbed up 4.3%, Kinaxis Inc. (KXS.TO) added 2.8%, Shopify Inc. (SHOP.TO) gained 1.5% and Celestica Inc. (CLS.TO) moved up 1.4%.

Among consumer staples stocks, Saputo Inc. (SAP.TO) gained 1.75%, while The North West Company (NWC.TO), Premium Brands Holdings Corporation (PBH.TO) and George Weston (WN.TO) declined 0.7% - 1,5%.

Cineplex Inc. (CGX.TO) has announced a cash dividend of $0.145 per share for the month of July 2018 payable on August 31, 2018 to shareholders of record on July 31, 2018. The stock ended nearly 1% down.

Rogers Communications Inc (RCIb.TO) ended marginally lower. The company reported a 2% rise in quarterly profit on the back of a notable increase in subscriber base for the company's wireless postpaid services.

In commodities, Crude oil futures for August delivery ended up $0.70 or 1%, at $69.46 a barrel after touching a low of $67.80. Crude oil futures for September were trading at $68.00 a barrel, up $0.25 or 0.34%.

Gold futures for August were down $5.30 or 0.43% at $1,222.60 an ounce. Silver futures for September were down $0.259 or 1.66% at $15.315 an ounce, while Copper declined $0.041 or 1.49% at $2.719 per pound.

In Canadian economic news, a report from Statistics Canada said 454,100 people received regular Employment Insurance benefits in the month of May. That was little changed from April.

Meanwhile, a report from ADP showed that Canada lost 10,500 jobs in June, due to a drop in hiring in the finance and real estate sector.

In U.S. economic news, a report released by the Labor Department revealed initial jobless claims fell to 207,000 for the week ended July 14, the lowest level in nearly five decades, and a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week's revised level of 215,000.

Meanwhile, the Conference Board's leading economic index climbed by 0.5% in June after revised data showed no change in May.

In economic news from Europe, data from the Office for National Statistics showed that UK retail sales unexpectedly declined in June, falling 0.5% from the previous month. However, the quarterly growth rate was the fastest since 2015, the data showed.