Canadian equities advanced for the third consecutive session on Thursday, as investor optimism grew around upcoming earnings reports and potential interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve later this year.
Significant gains were reported in the utilities, consumer staples, and technology sectors. Select stocks within the communications, healthcare, industrials, and financial sectors also saw notable increases. Conversely, energy stocks faced declines amid a dip in oil prices.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 56.90 points, an increase of 0.23%, closing at 24,846.20. This followed an intraday range with a low of 24,771.89 and a peak of 24,884.20.
New data from the Canada Mortgage & Housing Corporation revealed a 13.35% decrease in housing starts to 231,500 units in December, marking a three-month low.
E-L-Financial Corporation Limited surged 7% in stock price. Wajax Corporation rose by 5.6%, and Richelieu Hardware reported a 5% gain.
Companies like Molson Coors Canada, Aritzia Inc, Celestica Inc, Capital Power Corporation, Emera Inc, and Brookfield Renewable Corporation experienced increases ranging from 2.5% to 4.6%.
Other strong performers included Tecsys Inc, iA Financial Corporation, Fortis, ATCO, Linamar Corporation, Colliers International, Canadian National Railway, and Boyd Group Services.
In contrast, Haivision Systems plummeted over 12%. Post-market, the company disclosed a fourth-quarter profit of $2.1 million, or $0.07 per share, compared to the previous year's $2.5 million, or $0.08 per share, for the same period.
Stocks such as Dye & Durham, Torex Gold Resources, First Quantum Minerals, Arc Resources, MEG Energy, and Bombardier Inc experienced declines of 3% to 4.5%.
Suncor Energy, Ag Growth International, Canadian Natural Resources, Tourmaline Oil Corp, Franco-Nevada Corporation, Canadian Western Bank, Dollarama Inc, and TC Energy Corp each lost between 1% and 2.2%.
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