Canada Stocks: TSX notches third week of gains as technology rallies

First Majestic Silver

20/01/2023 22:18

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      TSX ends up 161.77 points, or 0.8%, at 20,503.21
    

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      Posts its highest closing level since Dec. 1
    

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      Tech sector climbs 2.4%
    

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      Magnet Forensics ends 13.9% higher
    

  
 (Adds investor quotes and details throughout; updates prices)
    By Fergal Smith
       Jan 20 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on
Friday to its highest closing level in more than seven weeks as
technology shares rallied and higher commodity prices boosted
resource shares.
    The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index
 .GSPTSE  ended up 161.77 points, or 0.8%, at 20,503.21, its
highest closing level since Dec. 1. For the week, the index was
up 0.7%, its third straight week of gains.
     Major U.S. stock indexes also closed higher, paced by gains
for the technology-heavy Nasdaq after Netflix reported quarterly
earnings.
    "The techs are having a decent bounce back ... but it still
feels like the commodities and cyclicals are going to be a nice
place to add some outperformance," said Greg Taylor, a portfolio
manager at Purpose Investments.
    The Toronto market's technology sector climbed 2.4%, helped
by a 5.6% gain for the shares of e-commerce giant Shopify Inc
 SHOP.TO .
    Energy was up 0.4% and the materials group, which includes
precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added
1.1%.
    The price of copper  HGc1  rose 0.6%, while gold remained
near its highest level in nine months and oil  CLc1  settled
1.2% higher at $81.31 a barrel.
    Heavily-weighted financials advanced 0.7% and industrials
ended 0.8% higher.    
    Canadian retail sales dipped 0.1% in November from October.
Still, that beat analysts forecasts for a decline of 0.5%, while
a flash estimate showed sales rebounding 0.5% in December.
    "It does show that the Canadian economy is still holding up
reasonably well," said Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist
at SIA Wealth Management. "And, inflation is coming down, so
that's all encouraging."
    Thoma Bravo will buy Canadian software firm Magnet Forensics
Inc  MAGT.TO  in a C$1.8 billion ($1.3 billion) deal, the
company said, as the private equity firm bolsters its
cybersecurity portfolio to tap into rising demand.
    Shares of Magnet Forensics ended 13.9% higher.
 (Reporting by Fergal Smith; Addditional reporting by Shristi
Achar A and Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh
Kuber and Alistair Bell)
 ((Shristi.AcharA@thomsonreuters.com;))