TSX Ends Higher For 5th Straight Day

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market extended its winning run to a fifth successive day, as strong GDP data and optimism over the resumption of U.S.-China trade talks from September outweighed crude oil's sharp fall on Friday and pushed up stock prices a bit ahead of a long weekend.

The market will remain closed on Monday for Labor Day holiday.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended up 57.58 points, or 0.35%, at 16,442.07, after touching a high of 16,456.47. The index gained about 2.5% in the week.

Shares from materials and industrials sections found good support. A few stocks from utilities, real estate and consumer staples sections too moved higher.

Energy and healthcare shares traded weak, while information technology and bank stocks turned in a mixed performance amid lackluster moves.

Among materials shares, Hudbay Minerals (HBM.TO), Interfor Corp (IFP.TO), Lundin Mining (LUN.TO), Ero Copper (ERO.TO) and First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) gained 2 to 5%.

Ivanhoe Mines (IVN.TO), Methanex (MX.TO), B2Gold Corp (BTO.TO) and Pan American Silver Corp (PAAS.TO) also rose sharply.

Among the stocks in the Industrials index, Air Canada (AC.TO) gained 2.8% after announcing that the Superior Court of Quebec has granted a final order approving the takeover of travel company Transat A.T. by the airliner.

Cae Inc. (CAE.TO) gained 4.35%. Transcontinental (TCL.A.TO), Richelieu Hardware (RCH.TO), Bombardier Inc (BBD.B.TO), Cargojet (CJT.TO) and Mullen Group (MTL.TO) gained 1 to 2.3%.

Energy shares Tourmaline Oil Corp (TOU.TO), Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO), Enerplus Corp (ERF.TO), Vermilion Energy (VET.TO), Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO), Husky Energy (HSE.TO) and Encana Corp (ECA.TO) lost 1.3 to 4%.

Among bank stocks, CDN Western Bank (CWB.TO) gained nearly 1.5%. National Bank of Canada (NA.TO), Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) and Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) gained 0.4 to 0.7%.

In the healthcare space, CannTrust Holdings (TRST.TO), Canopy Growth Corp (WEED.TO) and Aphria Inc. (APHA.TO) declined sharply, while Hexo Corp (HEXO.TO) ended 1.7% up.

On the economic front, Data from Statistics Canada showed that real gross domestic product climbed by 0.9% in the second quarter, after edging up 0.1% in the previous quarter.

On an annualized basis, the GDP rose 3.7% in the second quarter, following a revised 0.5% rise in the previous quarter. Economists had forecast a 3% growth.

On a month-on-month basis, the gross domestic product rose 0.2% in June, the same rate as seen in May. Economists had expected a growth of 0.1%.

According to another report, prices for products manufactured in Canada were down 0.3% in July.

The agency also said prices for raw materials purchased by manufacturers operating in Canada were up 1.2%, mainly as a result of higher crude energy products prices.

U.S. stocks ended mixed after a choppy session with investors reacting to a mixed batch of economic data and tracking the developments on the trade front.

The Dow ended up 0.2% and the S&P 500 closed 1.88% up, while the Nasdaq edged lower by 0.1%.

The markets in Europe and across the Asia-Pacific region ended higher on Friday, with investors betting on hopes the U.S. and China will resume trade talks in September.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended down $1.61, or about 2.8%, at $55.10 a barrel.

Gold futures for December ended down $7.50, or 0.5%, at $1,529.40 an ounce.