TSX Ends Higher For 3rd Straight Day

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market ended on a positive note on Wednesday, gaining for a third straight session, led by gains in technology and consumer staples sectors.

Shares from energy, consumer discretionary, healthcare and communications sectors too found good support.

Data on Canadian inflation, released on Tuesday, continued to aid sentiment. The data showed the annual inflation rate in Canada dropped to 3.4% in May, the lowest level since June 2021. Core inflation eased to an 18-month low of 3.7% last month. The data has slightly weakened the case for a rate hike in July.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a gain of 85.76 points or 0.43% at 19,818.85, the session's high.

Technology stocks Hut 8 Mining Corp (HUT.TO) and Lightspeed Commerce (LSPD.TO) gained 4.9% and 4.3%, respectively. Docebo Inc (DCBO.TO), Coveo Solutions (CVE.TO), Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO), Softchoice (SFTC.TO) and Descartes Systems Group (DSG.TO) advaned 1.5 to 3%.

In the consumer staples sector, Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc (ATD.TO) shares climbed more than 4% after the company reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $670.7 million , or $0.68 per diluted share, compared with $477.7 million , or $0.46 per diluted share for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022.

Maple Leaf Foods (MFI.TO), Empire Company (EMP.A.TO) and Metro Inc (MRU.TO) gained 1.25 to 1.4%.

Baytex Energy (BTE.TO), Athabasca Oil Corp (ATH.TO), Advantage Oil & Gas (AAV.TO), Precision Drilling Corp (PD.TO), Tamarack Valley Energy (TVE.TO) and Imperial Oil (IMO.TO) were among the top gainers in the energy sector.

Healthcare stocks Bausch Health Companies (BHC.TO) and Chartwell Retirement Residences (CSH.UN.TO) gained 3.6% and 2.2%, respectively.