Roundup: Canadian stock market hikes after positive GDP data

Canada's main stock market in Toronto strengthened with a solid rally on Wednesday when the positive gross domestic product (GDP) data boosted the trading sentiment.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's / TSX Composite Index hiked 270 points, or 2.07 percent, to close at 13,306.96 points.

Seven of the eight major sectors were in the rising streak after Statistics Canada reported on Wednesday that Canada's real GDP grew 0.3 percent in July, after rising 0.4 percent in June. The growth in June and July followed five consecutive monthly declines from January to May. And the increase in July was led by mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction, manufacturing, and the finance and insurance sector.

"The release of July's GDP provides further evidence that the worst of the Canadian economic soft patch is behind us and puts some upside to our view that real GDP growth clocked in at 2.5 percent in the third quarter of the year", according to Diana Petramala, an economist from TD Bank.

The biggest gainer by percentage was the medical sector, jumping 6.5 percent, when its leading company Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. spiked up 12.33 percent to 238.2 Canadian dollars (about 178.5 U.S. dollars).

However, the biggest drug maker in Canada tumbled in its stock price for two straight days after Democrats in the U.S. House asked to subpoena the company for documents relating to drug price increases.

And it is reported Monday that the politicians said prices of Valeant's heart drugs Nitropress and Isuprel increased by 212 percent and 525 percent from the day when Valeant acquired the rights to sell them.

Responding to the GDP data, the mining sector make upwards correction by 2.54 percent with First Quantum Minerals Ltd. up 5.16 percent to 4.89 Canadian dollars.

And the Industrials was also up 1.5 percent when Statistics Canada said on Wednesday that the volume of rail freight carried in Canada totalled 30.1 million tonnes in July, up 0.2 percent from the same month last year.

Canadian National Railway Company advanced 1.83 percent to 75.78 Canadian dollars while Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. rallied 3.26 percent to 191.54 Canadian dollars per share.

Other gainers included Financials and Energy, up 1.96 percent and 0.59 percent respectively.

By contrast, Telecom edged down 0.6 percent when its heavyweight Rogers Communications Inc. lost 0.71 percent to 45.98 Canadian dollars apiece.

On the currency front, boosted by the upbeat GDP data, the Canadian dollar on Wednesday was pushed up to 0.7493 U.S. dollar, when compared with 0.7453 U.S. dollar on Tuesday. Enditem