Energy sector lifts Canadian market higher

Canada's main stock market closed ahead for a second straight session on Tuesday, as gains in energy stocks from strong gains in crude oil and natural gas futures outpaced losses in the health care sector.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite jumped 84.67 points, or 0.54 percent, to start the week at 15,669.07 points. Seven of the 10 sub-groups ended the session ahead.

The TSX Energy group continued its recent ascent, rising 1.48 percent following jumps in crude oil and natural gas prices.

A barrel of Brent for June delivery in London rose 1.94 percent to close at a four-week high of 54.13 U.S. dollars. The benchmark crude oil had lost a combined 10.47 percent since late February.

Since then, it has bounced back by trading ahead in six of the last eight session for a cumulative gain of 7.10 percent. Meanwhile, May natural gas on the New York Mercantile Exchange soared 5.02 percent to 3.291 U.S. dollars per million British thermal units.

As a result of the price jumps, a group of Calgary energy firms received boosts during the session. Birchcliff Energy Ltd, Baytex Energy Corp, and Spartan Energy Corp were the standouts, leaping 3.36 percent, 3.12 percent, and 2.66 percent, respectively.

Suncor Energy Inc, the largest crude oil producer in the country, saw shares climb 0.91 percent to 41.90 Canadian dollars (30.02 U.S. dollars).

The remaining groups that finished Tuesday ahead were: Industrials (0.85 percent), Materials (0.84 percent), Telecommunications (0.76 percent), Information Technology (0.41 percent), Financials (0.18 percent), and Utilities (0.15 percent).

The Materials group, which is comprised of producers of gold, precious metals, and raw materials, benefited from gains in gold, silver and copper.

The spot price for an ounce of gold and silver both advanced 0.22 percent to 1,255.70 U.S. dollars and 18.27 dollars. Meanwhile, a pound of copper advanced 0.48 percent to 2.6113 U.S. dollars.

Gold miners Yamana Gold Inc and Barrick Gold Corporation shares boosted 1.07 percent and 0.97 percent, each.

Meanwhile, Copper producers saw the most gains within the group during the session, as shares of Toronto-based HudBay Minerals Inc soared 4.04 percent and Vancouver-based Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. jumped 3.62 percent.

The IT group also contributed to the overall gains, as Waterloo-based Blackberry Limited saw shares ascend 3.64 percent to 10.83 Canadian dollars (8.08 U.S. dollars).

On the losing side, the health care sector was the biggest deterrent for a second straight session, slipping 1.39 percent after medical marijuana distributor Canopy Growth Corporation shares declined 1.28 percent to 10.50 Canadian dollars (7.50 U.S. dollars).

Shares of the Smith Falls-based firm were the eleventh most traded stock on the day with volume exceeding 3.75 million.

A trio of Quebec-based pharmaceutical firm also contributed to the group's demise. ProMetic Life Sciences shares dipped 3.51 percent, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International retreated 2.51 percent, and Knight Therapeutics slipped 1.55 percent.

The Consumer Discretionary and Consumer Staples group rounded out the list with respective declines of 0.44 percent and 0.02 percent.

On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that international merchandise trade in February was a 972 million Canadian dollar deficit, compared to analysts' expectation of a 500 million Canadian dollar surplus.

Month-over-month exports slipped 2.4 percent to 45.340 billion dollars, while imports rose 0.6 percent to 46,312 billion dollars. Exports to China dipped 17.3 percent to 1.989 billion dollars, while imports climbed 4.3 percent to 3.338 billion dollars.

The Canadian dollar fell 0.11 cents to close the session at 0.7459 U.S. dollars. Endit