TSX Ends Marginally Up

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market ended slightly up on Friday after a somewhat lackluster session, as investors stayed cautious amid fears of interest rate hikes, and on concerns about the health of the Chinese economy.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which fell to 19,683.85 in early trades, ended the day with a small gain of 6.16 points or 0.03% at 19,818.39. The index shed about 2.9% in the week.

Energy, healthcare and utilities shares found support. Shares from the rest of the sectors closed on a mixed note.

Energy stocks Spartan Delta Corp (SDE.TO), Pason Systems (PSI.TO), Baytex Energy (BTE.TO), Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO), Advantage Oil & Gas (AAV.TO), Suncor Energy (SU.TO) and Imperial Oil (IMO.TO) gained 1.3 to 2.7%.

Northland Power (NPI.TO), up 5.3%, was the top gainer in the Utilities Index. Emera Inc (EMA.TO), Boralex Inc (BLX.TO), Transalta Corp (TA.TO) and Innergex Renewable (INE.TO), up 1.4 to 2%, were the other major gainers in the sector.

On the economic front, data from Statistics Canada showed industrial producer prices in Canada rose by 0.4% over the previous month in July, rebounding from the 0.6% decline in the previous month. Producer prices in Canada decreased 2.7% in July over the same month in the previous year.

Meanwhile, raw materials prices increased in July, the data showed. The Raw Materials Price Index rose by 3.5% in the month, after an upwardly revised 2% fall in June. Year-on-year, raw materials prices plunged 11.1% in July.