TSX Falls Despite Oil Rally, Bank Earnings -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks fell Thursday despite soaring oil prices, as significant weakness emerged in the health care and tech sectors.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 55 points, or 0.37 percent, to 15,027.53.

Financials were mixed after Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, or CIBC, (CM, CM.TO) said its fourth-quarter net income surged to $927 million from last year's $776 million.

Earnings per share were $2.32, higher than $1.93 a year ago.

Separately, the company announced a quarterly dividend increase of three cents from the previous quarter to $1.24 per share.

CIBC shares rose 2.2 percent.

TD Bank (TD.TO) reported fourth-quarter net income of $2.30 billion, up 25 percent from a year ago.

TD will charge an additional 10 basis points to their overall rate for all new fixed mortgages of 25 years or more. Shares slipped 0.8 percent.

Canopy Growth Corp. (CGC.TO), a diversified cannabis company, willl buy Mettrum Health Corp., a licensed producer of medical cannabis. CG shares fell 3.8 percent.

Snack maker Mondelez will close its Montreal plant, cutting 454 jobs.

Energy stocks nudged higher after OPEC and Russia surprisingly announced a deal to curb supplies.