Canadian stocks hit 19-month high

Canada's main stock market in Toronto reached its highest point since May 2015, as strength in automotive and IT stocks along with the central bank's decision to keep their interest rate steady contributed.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index moved up 111.95 points, or 0.74 percent, to finish the session at 15,237.75 points. Eight of the ten subgroups closed the day ahead.

In a morning news release, Bank of Canada announced that the overnight lending rate would remain at 0.5 percent, a rate which has not changed since July 2015. The news release cited a significant amount of economic slack', compared to the United States.

The decision to hold rates the same was expected by many, including Dawn Desjardins, Deputy Chief Economist at Royal Bank of Canada, who does not forecast a rate change in 2017.

"Our forecast assumes that the US economy will grow at a firmer pace in 2017 and that any action on changing trade policies that would affect Canada will be slow-moving, if they occur at all," said Desjardins in a report. "For Canada, this is likely to translate into a firmer year for growth in 2017 and will likely result in the Bank maintaining the overnight rate at 0.5 percent throughout the year."

During the trading session on Wednesday, Consumer Discretionary and Information Technology groups saw the biggest gains, rising 2.13 percent and 2.06 percent, respectively.

Consumer Discretionary, which is made up of producers of non-essentials products such as automobiles, apparel and entertainment, saw an uplift as Automobile suppliers Magna International Inc. and Martinrea International Inc. surged 5.63 percent to 60.83 Canadian dollars (45.96 U.S. dollars) and 7.41 percent to 8.41 Canadian dollars (6.35 U.S. dollars), respectively.

Also contributing was Montreal-based Dollarama Inc. shares rising 1.33 percent to 101.32 Canadian dollars (76.55 U.S. dollars) after releasing third quarter financials that showed an 11.2 percent jump in sales compared to the same period last year. The Canadian chain retailer which sells items for four dollars or less has more than 1,000 stores across the country.

Information Technology subgroup gained after Toronto-based DH Corporation confirmed the formation of a special committee to assist with the prospect of being acquired by a third party company. Shares of the financial technology firm soared 13.97 percent to 21.87 Canadian dollars (16.52 U.S. dollars).

Furthermore, Ottawa-based Wi-LAN Inc. shares surged 9.68 percent to 2.04 Canadian dollars (1.54 U.S. dollars) a day after acquiring a portfolio of over 1,200 patents from Eastman Kodak Company, the electrophotography company commonly known as Kodak.

Other groups gaining on the day were Consumer Staples (1.28 percent), Industrials (1.00 percent), Financials (0.83 percent), Materials (0.72 percent), Telecommunications (0.70 percent), and Utilities (0.55 percent).

Energy and Health Care were the only groups to lose ground on the day, with respective dips of 0.71 percent and 0.61 percent.

Health Care subgroup was hit hard, as United States president-elect Donald Trump stated that he would lower drug prices in his interview with Time magazine after being named their 'Person of the Year' .

As a result, Quebec-based drugmakers ProMetic Life Sciences and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. tumbled 4.59 percent and 3.76 percent, respectively.

The Canadian dollar gained 0.026 to 0.7555 U.S. dollars. Endite