TSX Extends Gains To 3rd Day, Ends On Strong Note

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market ended on a strong note on Monday, staying firm right through the session, on reports the U.S. President Donald Trump was recovering well and will soon be discharged from hospital.

Optimism about a new U.S. coronavirus relief plan, a sharp rally in energy prices, and encouraging economic data from across the globe rendered the mood positive.

Healthcare and energy stocks hogged the limelight. Several stocks from materials, information technology, financial, consumer discretionary and utilities sections also posted impressive gains.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, rising consistently as the day progressed, ended stronger by 210.94 points or 1.3% at 16,410.19, extending gains to a third straight session.

The Capped Healthcare Index surged up 4.41%. Aphria Inc. (APHA.TO) soared nearly 14%. Trillium Therapeutics (TRIL.TO) gained 7%, while Aurinia Pharma (AUP.TO) and Canopy Growth Corp (WEED.TO) both ended higher by about 6%. Cronos Group (CRON.TO) and Bausch Health Companies (BHC.TO) gained up 4% and 2.3%, respectively.

The Energy Index climbed 2.73%. Seven Generations Energy (VII.TO) spurted 10%. Vermilion Energy (VET.TO), Enerplus Corp (ERF.TO), Tourmaline Oil Corp (TOU.TO), Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO), ARC Resources (ARX.TO), Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) and Parex Resources (PXT.TO) gained 3.5 to 6%.

In the materials section, New Gold (NGD.TO) soared nearly 12%. Hudbay Minerals (HBM.TO), Nutrien (NTR.TO), Eldorado Gold (ELD.TO) and Methanex Corp (MX.TO) climbed 5 to 6.3%.

Consumer discretionary shares Linamar Corp (LNR.TO), Martinrea International (MRE.TO), Brp Inc. (DOO.TO) and Magna International (MG.TO) gained 2.7 to 4%.

Information technology shares Evertz (ET.TO), Sierra Wireless (SW.TO), Shopify Inc. (SHOP.TO), Lightspeed Pos (LSPD.TO), Celestica Inc (CLS.TO) and Enghouse Systems (ENGH.TO) moved up 2 to 4%.

In the financial space, CDN Western Bank (CWB.TO), CI Financial Corp (CIX.TO), National Bank of Canada (NA.TO), Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO), Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO), Manulife Financial (MFC.TO), Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) ended stronger by 1.4 to 2.5%.

U.S. stocks ended sharply higher amid positive reports about Trump's health. The Dow jumped 1.7%, the Nasdaq spiked 2.3% and the S&P 500 surged up 1.8%.

Stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region and Europe also closed higher.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended up $2.17 or about 5.9% at $39.22 a barrel.

Gold futures for December ended higher by $12.50 or about 0.7% at $1,920.10 an ounce, the highest close since September 18.

Silver futures for December ended up $0.531 or 2.2% at $24.560 an ounce, while Copper futures for December settled at $2.9630 per pound, down $0.0140 or 0.5% from previous close.