FX.co ★ Canadian Market Modestly Higher In Cautious Trade

The Canadian market closed out the week on a positive note on Friday afternoon, with gains primarily reported in the materials, healthcare, and consumer staples sectors.

American tech corporations Alphabet and Microsoft's strong earnings updates quelled concerns about the future of interest rates, contributing to the market's overall buoyancy. The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index rose by 0.37% or 80.60 points from an earlier 21,907.48 to 21,965.98.

Amongst material-centered corporations, Capstone Mining Corp, Ero Copper, and First Quantum Minerals revealed an impressive uptick ranging between 7.8% to 8.1%. Simultaneously, Ivanhoe Mines, Equinox Gold Corp, Hudbay Minerals, Filo Mining Corp, and Lundin Mining saw increases of 3.5% to 6.3%. Eldorado Gold also experienced over a 3% surge, following the release of its adjusted net earnings report of $55.2 million for the first quarter of 2024, marking a substantial increase from the previous year's $16.7 million.

In the healthcare sector, Tilray Inc, Bausch Health Companies, and Sienna Senior Living displayed growth of 1.7%, 1.6%, and 1.2% respectively. Similarly, Chartwell Retirement Residences trended upwards by around 0.75%.

In the consumer staples category, Maple Leaf Foods experienced a 2% boost. Other companies in the sector like Saputo Inc, Jamieson Wellness, Premium Brands Holdings Corp, Alimentation Couche-Tard, and Metro Inc demonstrated a growth of 1% to 1.3%.

Despite the general upward trend, Imperial Oil Limited saw its shares dip by 0.8%. The company featured a first-quarter net income of $1,195 million, a slight decrease from its $1,248 million net income in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. In a similar downturn, TFI International Inc fell by approximately 3.3%. The company reported a first quarter net income of $92.8 million, indicating a drop from the $111.9 million recorded in Q1 2023. The adjusted net income for the first quarter of 2024 was also lower, coming in at $105.5 million as compared to the prior year's $116.5 million.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business also issued a report showing the business barometer in Canada, an index reflecting 12-month forward expectations for business performance in the country, lower in April (47.5) than the revised estimate for the previous month (52.9).