TSX Ends On Firm Note

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market ended on a strong note on Monday as stocks from energy, financial and technology sectors moved up sharply on sustained buying interest.

A firm trend in European markets and data showing a stronger than expected pace of expansion of China's GDP in the fourth quarter and the Chinese central bank's decision to cut interest rate lifted investor sentiment.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a gain of 179.89 points or 0.84% at 21,537.45. The index, which opened at 21,373.21, climbed to a high of 21,550.10.

The Capped Energy Index climbed 1.72%. Advantage Oil & Gas (AAV.TO), Baytex Energy (BTE.TO), Arc Resources (ARX.TO), Topaz Energy Corp (TPZ.TO), Whitecap Resources (WCP.TO), Paramount Services (POU.TO), Enerplus Corp (ERF.TO), Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO), Suncor Energy (SU.TO), Tourmaline Oil Corp (TOU.TO), Imperial Oil (IMO.TO) and Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) gained 1.4 to 3.7%.

In the financial section, CDN Western Bank (CWB.TO), National Bank of Casada (NA.TO), Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO), Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO), Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO), Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO), Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) and Laurentian Bank (LB.TO) moved up 1 to 2.2%.

Among the stocks in the technology section, Alithya Group (ALYA.TO) and Haivision Systems (HAI.TO) gained 3.5% and 3.1%, respectively. Constellation Software (CSU.TO), Evertz Technologies (ET.TO), Viq Solutions (VQS.TO), CGI Group Inc (GIB.A.TO), Converge Technology Solutions (CTS.TO), Opex Text Corp (OTEX.TO) and Quarterhill Inc (QTRH.TO) gained 1.5 to 2.3%.

On the economic front, car registrations in Canada decreased to 116,636 Units in November from 131,215 Units in October of 2021, data from Statistics Canada showed.

Manufacturing sales in Canada increased 2.6% from a month earlier to C$ 63.1 billion in November 2021, another data from Statistics Canada showed. That was down from an upwardly revised 4.6% rise in the previous month.

In news from China, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed China's gross domestic product grew 4% in the fourth-quarter on a yearly basis, slower than the 4.9% expansion posted in the preceding quarter, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Monday.

However, the pace of growth was bigger than the economists' forecast of 3.6%. On a quarterly basis, China's GDP advanced 1.6% versus the expected growth of 1.1%.