The Canadian stock market, which retreated after opening modestly higher Tuesday morning, is edging up again in cautious trade.
Technology stocks are up sharply. Materials shares are notably lower. Energy stocks are also weak, while financial and healthcare stocks are turning in a mixed performance.
Concerns over rising coronavirus cases and the likely economic impact of lockdown restrictions are weighing on the market, while positive news on U.S. stimulus front is aiding sentiment.
The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index was up 12.86 points or 0.07% at 17,513.75 a few minutes past noon. Earlier, the index touched a high of 17,558.54.
The Capped Information Technology Index is up more than 3%. Lightspeed Pos (LSPD.TO) is soaring nearly 10% following a rating upgrade by Credit Suisse.
Docebo Inc. (DCBO.TO), Shopify Inc. (SHOP.TO), BlackBerry (BB.TO), Constellation Software (CSU.TO) and Enghouse Systems (ENGH.TO) are gaining 3.5 to 4.7%, and Descartes Systems Group (DSG.TO) is up nearly 3%. Open Text (OTEX.TO) and Kinaxis Inc. (KXS.TO) are also up sharply.
In the materials section, OceanaGold (OGC.TO), Silvercorp Metals (SVM.TO), Pan American Silver Corp (PAAS.TO), Kinross Gold Corp (K.TO), Iamgold Corp (IMG.TO), Ssr Mining (SSRM.TO) and Eldorado Gold (ELD.TO) are down 3 to 4.5%.
Energy stocks Enerplus Corp (ERF.TO), Vermilion Energy (VET.TO), Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO), Husky Energy (HSE.TO), Cenovus Energy (CBE.TO), Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) and Suncor Energy (SU.TO) are lower by 1.4 to 3%.
CAE Inc. (CAE.TO) announced it has acquired Merlot Aero Ltd., a flight crew management software company, in deal worth at least US$25 million. Under the agreement, CAE is paying US$25 million, plus up to an additional US$10 million in the form of an earn-out. CAE shares are up by about 1%.
On the economic front, data from Statistics Canada showed average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees in Canada grew 5.9% year-on-year to C$ 1,106 in October of 2020, following a downwardly revised 6.6% gain in the previous month.
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