TSX Ends Higher Again

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market ended on a bright note on Tuesday, riding on gains in consumer staples, financial and industrial shares.

Positive reaction to corporate earnings reports and optimism about the U.S. and China striking a trade deal ahead of March 1 deadline aided the move up north.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended up 100.37 points, or 0.64%, at 15,702.69, a near four-month closing high.

On Monday, the index ended with a solid gain of 96.01 points, or 0.62%, at 15,602.32.

The Capped Consumer Staples Index gained 2.02%. Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (ATD.B.TO), Loblaw Companies (L.TO), Metro Inc (MRU.TO), Saputo Inc. (SAP.TO), George Weston (WN.TO), Maple Leaf Foods (MFI.TO), Premium Brands Holdings Corporation (PBH.TO) and The North West Company (NWC.TO) gained 1 to 2.5%, while Empire Company (EMP.A.TO) ended 3.35% up.

The Capped Financial Index gained 0.68%. Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO), Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO), Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO), Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) and National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) ended 0.25 to 0.75%.

The Capped Industrials Index ended up 1.01%. Canadian National Railway Company (CNR.TO), Waste Connections (WCN.TO), Thomson Reuters Corporation (TRI.TO), CAE (CAE.TO), SNC-Lavalin Group (SNC.TO), Ritchie Brothers (RBA.TO), Toromont Industries (TIH.TO), Finning International (FTT.TO) and Air Canada (AC.TO) gained 1 to 3.2%.

WestJet Airlines Ltd (WJA.TO) reported full year net earnings of $91.5 million, or $0.80 per fully diluted share, as compared to net earnings of $279.1 million, or $2.38 per fully diluted share in the full year 2017. The stock gained 4.75%.

The Capped Materials Index moved up 0.55%. Teck Resources (TECK.B.TO) gained 1.1%, Goldcorp Inc. (G.TO) ended 0.82% up, Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM.TO) gained 1.15%, CCL Industries (CCL.B.TO) moved up 1.3% and Kirkland Lake Gold (KL.TO) surged up 2.7%. First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) ended 1.85% down.

Energy stocks turned in a mixed performance. Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) gained 1.2%. Encana Corporation (ECA.TO) declined 2.8%. Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO) ended 1.6% down

Cannabis stocks eased on profit taking. Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO) ended 2% down. Aphria Inc (APHA.TO) declined nearly 1%, Cronos Group (CRON.TO) ended more than 6% down, Hexo Corp (HEXO.TO) shed about 4.85%, Green Organic Dutchman Holdings (TGOD.TO) ended 2.9% down and Canopy Growth Corporation (WEED.TO) declined 2.3%.

U.S. stocks ended higher, extending gains from previous session after news about a meeting between Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and President Donald Trump on Monday helped ease concerns about relations between the central bank chief and the president.

A statement from the Fed said Powell and Trump had an informal dinner to discuss recent economic developments and the outlook for growth, employment and inflation.

European markets ended on a firm note with investors shrugging off some weak economic data and focusing on corporate earnings reports.

Asian markets ended turned in a mixed performance.

In commodities, crude oil futures for March ended down $0.90, or 1.7%, at $53.66 a barrel.

Gold futures for April ended down $0.10, at $1,319.20 an ounce.

Silver futures for March ended down $0.050, at $15.836 an ounce, while Copper futures for March settled at $2.8170, gaining $0.0225 for the session.