TSX Ends Marginally Up As Energy Stocks Post Strong Gains

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market ended marginally up on Tuesday, riding on strong gains in the energy sector as oil prices rose sharply following an escalation in tensions in the Middle East after Iran launched a missile attack on Israel.

Materials shares had a good outing as well as metal prices moved higher. Losses in technology and healthcare sectors limited the market's upside. Shares from industrials and consumer discretionary sectors also ended mostly lower.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which dropped to 23,875.68 after a slightly weak start, ended the session with a gain of 33.62 points or 0.14% at 24,033.99.

The Energy Capped Index climbed 3.4%. Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO), Baytex Energy (BTE.TO), Imperial Oil (IMO.TO), Veren Inc (VRN.TO), Suncor Energy (SU.TO), MEG Energy (MEG.TO), International Petroleum Corp (IPCO.TO), Athabasca Oil Corp (ATH.TO), Arc Resources (ARX.TO), Parex Resources (PXT.TO), Whitecap Resources (WCP.TO), Pason Systems (PSI.TO), Headwater Exploration (HWX.TO) and Paramount Resources (POU.TO) gained 3 to 4.5%.

Materials stocks First Majestic Silver (AG.TO), First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO), Pan American Silver Corp (PAAS.TO), Orla Mining (OLA.TO), Ssr Mining (SSRM.TO) and Fortuna Silver Mines (FVI.TO) gained 2.5 to 3.1%

Technology stocks BlackBerry (BB.TO) and Bitfarms (BITF.TO) tumbled 7.6% and 6.7%, respectively. Coveo Solutions (CVO.TO), Celestica Inc (CLS.TO), Quarterhill (QTRH.TO), Dye & Durham (DND.TO) and Computer Modelling (CMG.TO) lost 2 to 3.4%.

Healthcare stocks Tilray Inc (TLRY.TO) and Chartwell Retirement Residences (CSH.UN.TO) ended down 3.8% and 1.6%, respectively.

Industrials stocks Ballard Power Systems (BLDP.TO) and Cargojet (CJT.TO), and consumer discretionary stocks Aritzia Inc (ATZ.TO), Canada Goose Holdings (GOOS.TO) and Brp Inc (DOO.TO) also ended notably lower.

On the economic front, data from S&P Global said, the S&P Global Canada Manufacturing PMI rose to 50.4 in September 2024 from 49.5 in August, signaling the first improvement in operating conditions since April 2023. A slight rise in new orders supported this uptick, though export orders continued to decline for the thirteenth consecutive month.

In U.S. economic news, job openings unexpectedly saw a modest increase in the month of August, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Tuesday. The report said jobs openings rose to 8.04 million in August from an upwardly revised 7.71 million in July.

Economists had expected job openings to come in unchanged compared to the 7.67 million originally reported for the previous month.

Manufacturing activity in the U.S. continued to contract in the month of September, the Institute for Supply Management revealed in a report released today.

The ISM said its manufacturing PMI came in at 47.2 in September, unchanged from August, with a reading below 50 indicating contraction. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 47.5. Manufacturing activity contracted for the sixth consecutive month and the 22nd time in the last 23 months.