TSX Closes Higher For 3rd Straight Day

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks closed higher on Thursday, extending gains to a third straight session, with investors shifting their focus to earnings updates and expecting a couple of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year.

Shares from utilities, consumer staples and technology sectors were among the prominent gainers. A few stocks from communications, healthcare, industrials and financials sectors also posted notable gains. Energy stocks fell as oil prices dropped.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended higher by 56.90 points or 0.23% at 24,846.20, after scaling a low of 24,771.89 and a high of 24,884.20 intraday.

According to the data released by the Canada Mortgage & Housing Corporation, housing starts in Canada dropped by 13.35% month-over-month to 231,500 units in December, the lowest level in three months.

E-L-Financial Corporation Limited shares climbed 7%. Wajax Corporation (WJX.TO) gained 5.6% and Richelieu Hardware (RCH.TO) closed with a gain of 5%.

Molson Coors Canada (TPX.B.TO), Aritzia Inc (ATZ.TO), Celestica Inc (CLS.TO), Capital Power Corporation (CPX.TO), Emera Inc (EMA.TO), Brookfield Renewable Corporation (BEPC.TO) gained 2.5 to 4.6%.

Tecsys Inc (TCS.TO), iA Financial Corporation (IAG.TO), Fortis (FTS.TO), ATCO (ACO.X.TO), Linamar Corporation (LNR.TO), Colliers International (CIGI.TO), Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) and Boyd Group Services (BYD.TO) also posted strong gains.

Haivision Systems (HAI.TO) tanked more than 12%. Haivision announced after trading hours on Wednesday that it posted a profit of $2.1 million, or $0.07 per share in the fourth quarter, compared with $2.5 million, or $0.08 per share in the fourth quarter of the previous year.

Dye & Durham (DND.TO), Torex Gold Resources (TXG.TO), First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO), Arc Resources (ARX.TO), MEG Energy (MEG.TO) and Bombardier Inc (BBD.B.TO) closed lower by 3 to 4.5%.

Suncor Energy (SU.TO), Ag Growth International (AFN.TO), Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO), Tourmaline Oil Corp (TOU.TO), Franco-Nevada Corporation (FNV.TO), Canadian Western Bank (CWB.TO), Dollarama Inc (DOL.TO) and TC Energy Corp (TRP.TO) lost 1 to 2.2%.