Canada Stocks: TSX rises as technology and utility shares move higher

TransAlta Renewables

24/12/2020 19:33

* TSX closes up 30.31 points, or 0.17%, at 17,623.88
    * Information technology shares rise 0.7%

    TORONTO, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose
on Thursday in a shortened trading session ahead of the
Christmas holiday, with gains led by the technology and utility
sectors as a long-awaited Brexit trade deal boosted investor
sentiment.
    * The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index
 .GSPTSE  closed up 30.31 points, or 0.17%, at 17,623.88.
    * The information technology group  .SPTTTK  rose 0.7%,
helped by a 1.7% advance in the shares of Shopify Inc  SHOP.TO ,
the stock with the largest market capitalization on the TSX.
    * The largest percentage gainers on the index were TransAlta
Corp  TA.TO  and its majority owned subsidiary TransAlta
Renewables Inc  RNW.TO , which jumped 4.9% and 6.5% respectively
after the company said it was selling U.S. and Canadian power
transmission assets for $439 million to its renewable energy
subsidiary.
    * The utilities sector  .GSPTTUT  ended up 0.7%, while
energy was one of three major sectors to close lower, down 0.8%.
    * U.S. crude oil futures  CLc1  were up 0.4% at $48.30 a
barrel.
    * Britain clinched a narrow Brexit trade deal with the
European Union just seven days before it exits one of the
world's biggest trading blocs in its most significant global
shift since the loss of empire.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2J40BZ       
    * Locally, the value of Canadian building permits rose by
12.9% in November from October, easily beating analyst estimates
of a 3.0% gain, Statistics Canada data showed.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nAQN03JJT1     
   

 (Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Richard Chang)
 ((fergal.smith@thomsonreuters.com; +1 647 480 7446;))