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TORONTO, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Canada's main stock market rose for a second straight day on Thursday, as the initial public offering of parka maker Canada Goose and gains in Health Care and Consumer Staples sectors contributed to the final result.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite advanced 41.50 points, or 0.27 percent, to end the day at 15,562.41 points. Half of the ten sub-groups closed the day ahead.
Canada Goose Holdings Inc. made their debut on the exchange as the third most traded stock on the day with more than 7.1 million shares exchanged. Shares of the Toronto-based retailer of premium winter coats closed the session at 21.53 Canadian dollars (16.13 U.S. dollars), a 43.53 percent surge from their start of day price.
Within the top-ten sectors, Health Care and Consumer Staples saw the biggest percentage gains, rising 0.99 percent and 0.88 percent, apiece.
The TSX Health Care group was boosted by a pair of Quebec-based drugmakers. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. shares jumped 2.45 percent to 15.03 Canadian dollars (11.26 U.S. dollars), while shares of ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. closed at 2.43 Canadian dollars (1.82 U.S. dollars), a 1.67 percent increase. Also gaining within the group was Ontario-based long-term care firm Chartwell Retirement Residences, ticking up 0.66 percent to 15.23 Canadian dollars (11.41 U.S. dollars).
The Consumer Staples group, which consists of firms in the food industry, was fuelled by strong fourth quarter earnings of Premium Brands Holdings Corp. Shares of the Vancouver-based food distributor jumped 5.73 percent to 77.50 Canadian dollars (58.06 U.S. dollars) after revenues during the quarter was 532.6 million Canadian dollars (about 399 million U.S. dollars), 33.1 percent higher than the same period last year. Meanwhile, Empire Company Limited also had a strong day, rising 4.50 percent to close the day at 18.10 Canadian dollars (13.56 U.S. dollars).
The remaining groups that finished the day higher were: Telecommunications (0.42 percent), Financials (0.40 percent), and Materials (0.17 percent).
The TSX Materials group, which is comprised of producers of gold, precious metals, and raw materials, continued its ascend after gold dipped to a six-week low on Tuesday. The spot price of bullion rose 0.50 percent to 1,225.80 U.S. dollars an ounce. Subsequently, shares of Toronto-based Yamana Gold Inc. advanced 1.89 percent to 3.77 Canadian dollars (2.82 U.S. dollars).
Groups that closed Thursday experienced modest losses, with Utilities and Industrials groups leading the way with respective declines of 0.24 percent and 0.17 percent. Consumer Discretionary (0.08 percent), Information Technology (0.07 percent), and Energy (0.03 percent) rounded out the list.
Energy ticked up despite the price of crude oil slipping. A barrel of Brent delivered in May gave back 0.21 percent to 51.78 U.S. dollars. Shares of Calgary-based Encana Corporation and Baytex Energy Corp. retreated 1.97 percent to 14.40 Canadian dollars (10.79 U.S. dollars) and 0.85 percent to 4.67 Canadian dollars (3.50 U.S. dollars), respectively. Meanwhile, Suncor Energy Inc. and Canadian Natural Resources Limited offset the losses with gains of 0.54 percent and 0.11 percent, each.
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.23 cent to close the day at 0.7492 U.S. dollars.
