TSX rises as tech, consumer discretionary stocks gain

Canada’s main stock index rose on Wednesday as technology and consumer discretionary stocks advanced, but weakness in commodity-linked shares capped the gains.

At 9:44 a.m. ET (14:44 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 86.18 points, or 0.41%, at 21,318.21, after falling for two consecutive days.

Traders were betting on sectors hammered by worries over Western sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

Hard-hit technology stocks rose 3.1% to snap their six-day losing streak, tracking gains in the U.S. tech-heavy Nasdaq index. Consumer discretionary segment jumped 2.9%, after hitting its lowest levels since January 2021 on Tuesday.

Further gains were capped by the slide in the energy sector , down 2.8%, as oil prices fell over 5% to around $121 a barrel as some investors took the view that the U.S. ban on Russian oil may not worsen a supply shock.

“We’ve seen resource stocks have gone up, but they haven’t gone up as much as commodity prices have. So even when commodity prices come down like today, the decline in resource stocks will be more moderate and won’t drag the market down as much,” said Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management.

The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, lost 2.6% as gold futures fell 2.2% to $1,994.7 an ounce.

Stronger commodities had cushioned the TSX from the global risk-off sentiment in recent weeks as global equities were roiled by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and concerns around soaring inflation.

The financials sector gained 1.6% and industrials rose 1.3%.

Among individual stocks, TC Energy Corp fell 0.1% after it signed an option agreement to sell 10% stake in Coastal GasLink to Indigenous communities, in an attempt to give more authority to the groups who have traditionally held the land for the pipeline project.

(Reporting by Amal S in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)