TSX Ends On Upbeat Note

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market ended on an upbeat note on Monday, led by handsome gains in energy, materials and technology shares.

Several stocks from consumer discretionary, consumer staples, industrial and real estate sectors too posted impressive gains.

The mood was bullish right through the session thanks to positive lead from global markets, and silver's steep climb. Silver futures rose more than 9%, triggering hectic buying in the materials section.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a gain of 355.43 points or 2.05% at 17,692.45, slightly down from the day's high of 17,716.06.

The Capped Energy Index ended nearly 4% up. Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO) climbed 10.2%. Tourmaline Oil Corp (TOU.TO), Seven Generations Energy (VII.TO), MEG Energy (MEG.TO), Arc Resources (ARX.TO), Enerplus Corp (ERF.TO), Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) and Whitecap Resources (WCP.TO) gained 5.5 to 9%.

The Materials Index surged up 3.85%. First Majestic Silver Corp (FR.TO) soared 23.5%. According to reports, Mexico's government is looking to seek over $500 million from First Majestic Silver Corp. in what it says are owed taxes for artificially keeping its silver prices low over the past decade.

Silvercorp Metals (SVM.TO) zoomed nearly 26%. Fortuna Silver Mines (FVI.TO) climbed 18.5%, while MAG Silver (MAG.TO) and Pan American Silver Corp (PASS.TO) gained 13.7% and 13.1%, respectively. Silvercrest Metals (SIL.TO) ended 11.6% up.

The Capped Information Technology Index climbed 4.06%. Lightspeed POS (LSPD.TO), up 9.7%, was the top gainer. Docebo Inc. (DCBO.TO) spurted 8.1%. Photon Control (PHO.TO), Kinaxis Inc. (KXS.TO), Shopify Inc. (SHOP.TO), BlackBerry (BB.TO), Descartes Systems (DSG.TO) and Constellation Software (CSU.TO) gained 3.7 - 6.5%.

Consumer discretionary stocks Brp Inc. (DOO.TO), Canada Goose Holdings (GOOS.TO), Martinrea International (MRE.TO) and Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC.A.TO), Restaurant Brands International (QSR.TO), Linamar Corp (LNR.TO), Magna International (MG.TO) and Gildan Activewear (GIL.TO) gained 2.5 to 4.3%, contributing substantially to the near 2.6% rise of the sectoral index.

On the economic front, data showed the IHS Markit Canada Manufacturing PMI fell to 54.4 in January of 2021, down sharply from 57.9 in December. The latest reading pointed to the seventh consecutive month of expansion in manufacturing activity although the pace of expansion was the softest since July.