TSX Ends Higher For 7th Straight Session

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market ended higher on Monday, led by gains in healthcare and real estate sectors.

A few stocks from technology, industrials and financials sectors too posted notable gains and helped lift the market higher.

The mood, however, remained cautious amid a lack of fresh data. Investors looked ahead to more earnings and economic updates from the U.S. for direction.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a gain of 62.06 points or 0.3% at 20,641.97, rising for a seventh straight session.

The Healthcare Capped Index surged nearly 3%. Tilray Inc (TLRY.TO) climbed 5.36%, Canopy Growth Corp (WEED.TO) gained about 3.65%, Bellus Health Inc (BLU.TO) gained 3.1% and Bausch Health Companies (BHC.TO) ended 2.5% up.

Among the stocks in the real estate index, Northwest Healthcare Prop REIT (NWH.UN.TO) gained nearly 3%, while Primaris (PMZ.UN.TO), Tricon Capital Group (TCN.TO), H&R Real Estate (HR.UN.TO) and Colliers International Group (CIGI.TO) gained more than 2%.

Shopify Inc. (SHOP.TO), up 4.82%, was the top gainer in the technology section. Lightspeed Commerce (LSPD.TO) climbed about 1.1%.

Among financials shares, Home Capital Group (HCG.TO) rallied 4.5%, CI Financial (CIX.TO) gained nearly 2%, and Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) gained 1.1%. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO), Manulife Financial (MFC.TO) and Brookfield Corporation (BN.TO) also posted notable gains.

In the industrials space, Brookfield Business Partners (BBU.UN.TO) climbed nearly 4%. Cae Inc (CAE.TO) gained about 1.9%, while Air Canada (AC.TO) gained 1.3%.

Energy, materials and communications stocks ended mixed, while consumer staples shares were weak.

In economic news, data from Statistics Canada showed wholesale sales in Canada fell by 1.7% month-over-month to C$ 85.6 billion in February, compared with a preliminary estimate of a 1.6% drop. Wholesale sales had risen by an upwardly revised 6.1% in January.