The Canadian stock market is up firmly in positive territory about an hour past noon on Tuesday, led by gains in energy and information shares.
Healthcare and materials shares are sharply lower, while industrials, financial and consumer staples shares are turning in a mixed performance.
The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is up 83.79 or about 0.4% at 20,241.44 about an hour past noon, after hitting a new high at 20,252.94.
The Capped Energy Index is up 1.7%, with several stocks scoring strong gains thanks to a sharp surge in crude oil prices. PrairieSky Royalty (PSK.TO) and Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) are gaining 4.4% and 4.2%, respectively. Vermilion Energy (VET.TO), MEG Energy (MEG.TO), Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO), Enerplus Corp (ERF.TO), Suncor Energy (SU.TO), Imperial Oil (IMO.TO) and Arc Resources (ARX.TO) are up 1.5 to 3%.
Among information technology stocks, Celestica Inc (CLS.TO) is climbing 3.2%. Constellation Software (CSU.TO), Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO), CGI Group (GIB.A.TO), Open Text Corporation (OTEX.TO) and Enghouse Systems (ENGH.TO) are up 1 to 2%.
First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO), down 7.4%, is the biggest loser in the materials space. Hudbay Minerals (HBM.TO) is down more than 6%. Lundin Mining Corp (LUN.TO), Teck Resources (TECK.B.TO), Silvercrest Metals (SIL.TO), Canfor Corp (CFP.TO), Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM.TO) and Torex Gold Resources (TXG.TO) are also down sharply.
Among healthcare stocks, Tilray Inc (TLRY.TO) is down 4.6%. Aurinia Pharmaceutials (AUP.TO), Trillium Therapeutics (TRIL.TO), Bausch Health Companies (BHC.TO) and Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO) are lower by 2 to 3%.
In economic news, data released by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, housing starts in Canada rose 3.2% over a month earlier to 275,916 units in May.
Data released by Statistics Canada said that according to a preliminary estimate, the industrial product price index in Canada went up 3.1% month over month in May, following an upwardly revised 1.8% increase in the prior month.
Year-on-year, producer prices in Canada surged 16.9% in May, following a 14.3% jump in the previous month. It was the highest annual producer inflation rate since January of 1975.
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