TSX Ends Slightly Up

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market ended marginally up on Friday thanks to strong gains in technology and energy sectors.

Several stocks from healthcare and real estate sections also posted impressive gains. Materials, utilities and communication services share were weak.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a small gain of 13.98 points or 0.07% at 20,714.48. The index scaled a low of 20,621.91 and a high of 20,762.95.

Among technology stocks, Lightspeed Commerce (LSPD.TO) surged nearly 7%. Softchoice Corp (SFTC.TO), Quarterhill (QTRH.TO), BlackBerry (BB.TO), Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO), Hut 8 Mining (HUT.TO) and Converge Technology Solutions (CTS.TO) gained 3 to 4.5%.

In energy section, Athabasca Oil Corp (ATH.TO) climbed 6.75%, MEG Energy (MEG.TO) gained 5%, Baytex Energy (BTE.TO) and Tamarack Valley Energy (TVE.TO) surged 3.5% and 3%, respectively. Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO), Nuvista Energy (NVA.TO), Whitecap Resources (WCP.TO) and Tourmaline Oil Corp (TOU.TO) also posted notable gains.

Materials stocks MAG Silver Corp (MAG.TO), Fortuna Silver Mines (FVI.TO), Ivanhoe Mines (IVN.TO), Endeavour Silver Corp (EDR.TO), Equinox Gold Corp (EQX.TO) and First Majestic Silver Corp (FR.TO) lost 3 to 6%.

Brookfield Infra Partners (BIP.UN.TO) gained more than 2%, topping the list of gainers in the Utilities index. Boralex (BLX.TO), Hydro One (H.TO), Northland Power (NPI.TO) and Emera Inc (EMA.TO) were among the notable losers in the sector.

According to the data released by the Department of Finance, Canada's government budget deficit widened to C$ 3.4 billion in November 2022 from C$ 1.4 billion in November 2021.