Canada Stocks: TSX ends slightly higher as debt ceiling hopes boost Wall Street

Bausch Health Companies

18/05/2023 22:16

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      TSX ends up 0.66 of a point at 20,297.09
    

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      Materials sector falls 1.4%
    

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      Energy advances nearly 1%
    

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      Industrials gain 0.8%
    

  
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    By Fergal Smith
       May 18 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rebounded
to end slightly higher on Thursday, as optimism that a U.S. debt
ceiling deal could be reached soon offset pressure on mining
shares as gold prices fell.
    The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index
 .GSPTSE  ended up 0.66 of a point at 20,297.09. It was the
second straight day that the index closed higher after it posted
on Tuesday its sharpest decline in nearly two months.    
    Wall Street rallied on hopes that an agreement to raise the
U.S. government's borrowing cap could avoid financial
instability.
    A deal could lead to a "selling opportunity," said Matt
Skipp, president of SW8 Asset Management. "Markets will
experience a relief rally and that will be the last uptick for a
while because we are starting to feel the impact of higher
interest rates everywhere."
    The Bank of Canada said it was increasingly worried about
the ability of households to pay off debts and is seeing signs
of financial stress among some home buyers.
    The resource and financial shares that dominate the Toronto
market have been buffeted in recent months by a pullback in oil
prices and stress in the U.S. regional banking sector.    
    The materials sector fell 1.4% as gold and copper prices
declined. But energy advanced nearly 1% and industrials were up
0.8%.
    Bausch Health Companies Inc  BHC.TO  shares climbed 14.6% in
a two-day rally, after a favorable patent ruling by a Delaware
court.
    In contrast, Lightspeed Commerce Inc  LSPD.TO  shares
tumbled 12.5% on the company's disappointing quarterly sales
forecast.
    Shares of luxury winterwear maker Canada Goose Holdings Inc
 GOOS.TO  shed 10.2% after the company struck a cautious note on
its U.S. business.

 (Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto and by Johann M Cherian
and Vansh Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai,
Marguerita Choy and Richard Chang)
 ((fergal.smith@thomsonreuters.com; +1 647 480 7446;))