TSX Snaps 3-day Losing Streak, Ends Notably Higher

(RTTNews) - After three successive days of losses, the Canadian market ended on a firm note on Friday thanks to sustained buying in several stocks from across various sectors, amid hopes the Federal Reserve will cut interest rate in September.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a strong gain of 206.78 points or 0.91% at 22,814.81. The index gained 0.55% in the week.

Healthcare, technology, communications and industrials shares posted impressive gains. Several stocks from financials, materials, utilities and real estate sectors too closed notably higher.

Winpak Ltd (WPK.TO) shares climbed 7.8%. BRP Inc (DOO.TO) ended stronger by 5.8%. Teck Resources (TECK.B.TO), West Fraser Timber (WFG.TO), Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC.TO), Constellation Software (CSU.TO), Colliers International (CIGI.TO) and WSP Global (WSP.TO) gained 2.3 to 4%.

goeasy (GSY.TO), Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO), Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO) and Intact Financial Corporation (IFC.TO) climbed 1.5 to 1.8%.

TFI International (TFII.TO), Empire Company (EMP.A.TO), Keyera Corp (KEY.TO), GFL Environmental (GFL.TO) and Methanex Corp (MX.TO) lost 0.8 to 1.6%.

On the economic front, a report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said the Canada Business Barometer, a long-term index reflecting 12-month forward expectations for business performance in the country, dipped to 55.4 in July, down marginally from a downwardly revised 56.0 in the previous month.

A report from Statistics Canada said wholesale sales in Canada declined by 0.6% month-over-month in June, following a 0.8% decline in May, according to preliminary estimates.