(RTTNews) – After an early drop, the Canadian benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index recovered gradually and moved above the flat line around late morning on Thursday, led by gains in consumer, industrials, communications and real estate sectors.
A sell-off in the materials sector is limiting market’s upside. Financials, technology and energy stocks are turning in a mixed performance.
Rising fears of a wider U.S.-Iran conflict and its likely impact on economic growth weigh on sentiment.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index is down 84.89 points or 0.24% at 35,331.31 a few minutes past noon.
The Consumer Discretionary Capped Index is up 2.4%. Restaurant Brands International is up nearly 4% and Dollarama is gaining about 3%. Gildan Activewear, BRP and Canadian Tire Corporation are up 2%-2.25%.
The Consumer Staples Capped Index is up 1.7%. Saputo is rising 3.6% and Weston George is gaining 2.3%. Loblaw, Empire Company, Maple Leaf Foods and The North West Company are up 1.3%-2%.
Metro Inc. shares are up nearly 1.5%. The supermarket chain and family-owned bakery company FGF Brands on Thursday announced a strategic partnership under which FGF will acquire the commercial bakery production facility of Première Moisson Group, a Metro subsidiary, for C$90 million.
Communications sector stocks BCE Inc (2.1%), Rogers Communications (3.2%), Quebecor (1.8%), Telus Corporation (1.4%) and Cogeco Communications (1.2%) are up with strong gains.
In the real estate sector, FirstService Corporation, Altus Group, Dream Industrial REIT, Boardwalk Real Estate, Colliers International Group and Choice Properties are gaining 1.5%-2%.
Tfi International, up 7.4%, is the top gainer in the Industrials Capped Index, which is up 1.7%. Thomson Reuters, WSP Global, Waste Connections, Canadian National Railway, Canadian Pacific Railway, Gfl Environmental, Richelieu Hardware and Stantec are up 2.3%-4%.
In Canadian economic news, data from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation showed housing starts in Canada declined 6% in June to 238,971 units, from downwardly revised 253,083 units in May.
