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Canadian market closes higher for fifth straight session

Xinhua, December 22, 2016 Adjust font size:

Canada's main stock market in Toronto had strong performances from the industrials group on Wednesday to lift the index up slightly for its fifth consecutive session of gains.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite inched up 12.93 points, or 0.08 percent, to close the day 15,305.89 points. Four of the ten sub-sectors finished the session ahead.

Industrials group was the biggest mover of the day, climbing 0.63 percent after engineering firm SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. was awarded a five-year service contract for an unnamed company in Northern Alberta's oil sands region. Shares of the Montreal-based firm soared 2.50 percent to 58.55 Canadian dollars (43.70 U.S. dollars).

Also contributing to the gain in Industrials was Bombardier Inc. announcing the delivery of their CRJ200 Special Freighter, a commercial aircraft that is converted from smaller aircrafts used by regional airlines. In their news release, the Montreal-based firm said that there are currently 45 conversions received and expect to convert over 100 units over the course of the program. Shares ended the day up at 2.08 Canadian dollars (1.55 U.S. dollars), a 1.46 percent increase.

Other groups to finish in the green on Wednesday were Utilities (0.34 percent), Telecommunications (0.28 percent), Consumer Staples (0.12 percent), Financials (0.10 percent), and Consumer Discretionary (0.02 percent).

The TSX Health Care group took the biggest hit on the day, falling 0.96 percent. Laval-based drugmakers ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. contributed to the loss, sinking 4.22 percent and 3.11 percent, respectively. Over the last year, the group has slumped 48.88 percent.

Other sectors that lost ground on the day were Information Technology (0.60 percent), Materials (0.29 percent), and Energy (0.05 percent).

Blackberry Limited contributed to the decline in Information Technology, as shares dipped 2.40 percent to 9.78 Canadian dollars (7.30 U.S. dollars) a day after reporting better than expected quarterly earnings. Waterloo-based networking equipment firm Sandvine Corporation also faded 0.37 percent.

Energy sector stayed afloat on Wednesday as decline in crude oil price was offset by soaring natural gas price. Price of Brent delivered in February retreated 1.61 percent to 54.48 U.S. dollars a barrel. Meanwhile, January natural gas on New York Mercantile Exchange surged 9.47 percent to 3.572 U.S. dollars per million British thermal units as investors bet on a cold winter.

Shares of Calgary-based Baytex Energy Corp. and Encana Corporation fell 1.65 percent and 1.20 percent, respectively.

On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that non-farm earnings in October was 953.88 Canadian dollars, a 0.1 percent uptick from September. Compared to twelve months prior, there was no change.

By region, the biggest change since 2015 are in Northwest Territories (3.8 percent decrease), Alberta (2.6 percent decrease), Nunavut (2.3 percent decrease), and New Brunswick (2.0 percent increase).

The Canadian dollar slipped 0.0017 to 0.7464 U.S. dollars. Endite