(RTTNews) – The Canadian market is up firmly in positive territory a little past noon on Friday, extending recent gains, thanks largely to strong buying in the materials sector. Energy stocks are struggling for support due to weak oil prices.
The mood remains fairly bullish amid expectations the Bank of Canada and the Federal Reserve will announce further easing this year to boost growth.
The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index was up 168.32 points or 0.57% at 29,621.85 a few minutes past noon.
The Materials Capped Index is up more than 2.5%. Barrick Mining Corp, up 8.5%, tops the list of gainers in the sector. Endeavour Silver Corp, First Majestic Silver, Seabridge Gold and Kinross Gold are up 4 to 5%. G. Mining Ventures, Wesdome Gold Mines, Agnico Eagle Mines, MAG Silver Corp, Aya Gold & Silver and Franco-Nevada Corp are also up sharply.
Financials shares Manulife Financial, Intact Financial, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Great-West Lifeco, Sun Life Financial and National Bank of Canada are up 0.8 to 1.25%.
Energy stocks Baytex Energy, Canadian Natural Resources, Vermilion Energy, Cenovus Energy, International Petroleum Corp and Suncor Energy are down 2.5 to 4.3%.
On the economic front, retail sales in Canada increased 1% in August over the previous mnth, according to preliminary data. Retail sales in Canada increased 4% in July over the same month in the previous year.
Retail sales dropped by 0.8% in August, final data from Statistics Canada showed.
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