Canada Stocks: TSX rises on Cogeco-Altice deal, upbeat labor productivity data

COGECO

02/09/2020 15:33

Sept 2 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on
Wednesday, supported by gains in Cogeco  CGO.TO  after Altice
USA Inc  ATUS.N  offered to purchase the Canadian television
group, while upbeat domestic labor productivity data also
bolstered sentiment.
    * Cogeco's shares rose 30.4%, the most on the TSX, after
Altice USA offered to buy the company in a C$10.3 billion ($7.88
billion) all-cash deal.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2FZ343
    * The country's labor productivity grew by a record 9.8% in
the second quarter as hours worked plummeted at a much faster
pace than business output, Statistics Canada said.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2FZ0K8
    * At 9:45 a.m. ET (1345 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's
S&P/TSX composite index  .GSPTSE  was up 26.02 points, or 0.16%,
at 16,671.01.
    * The energy sector  .SPTTEN  dropped 1.3% as U.S. crude
 CLc1  prices were down 0.3% a barrel, while Brent crude  LCOc1 
lost 0.1%.  O/R 
    * The financials sector  .SPTTFS  gained 0.6%. The
industrials sector  .GSPTTIN  rose 0.7%.
    * The materials sector  .GSPTTMT , which includes precious
and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, lost 2.0% as
gold futures  GCc1  fell 1.0% to $1,948.3 an ounce.  GOL/  
    * On the TSX, 110 issues were higher, while 106 issues
declined for a 1.04-to-1 ratio favouring gainers, with 18.19
million shares traded.
    * Cogeco's gains were followed by Alimentation Couche-Tard
Inc  ATDb.TO , which rose 6.2% after the company reported upbeat
quarterly results.    
    * Ballard Power Systems Inc  BLDP.TO  fell 6.1%, the most on
the TSX, and the second biggest decliner was First Majestic
Silver Corp  FR.TO , down 5.5%
    * The most heavily traded shares by volume were Cardinal
Resources Limited  CDV.TO , and D-BOX Technologies Inc  DBO.TO .
    * The TSX posted six new 52-week highs and no new lows.
    * Across all Canadian issues there were 60 new 52-week highs
and six new lows, with total volume of 41.41 million shares.

 (Reporting by Amal S in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)
 ((Amal.S@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S.+1 646 223 8780;
outside U.S. +91 80 6749 3677;))