The Canadian stock market closed the shortened trading session on Tuesday with a modest increase, largely driven by gains in the energy and technology sectors. Trading volume remained relatively light as investors hesitated to make major moves ahead of the Christmas and Boxing Day holidays. The market is set to resume operations on Friday, December 27.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index, which serves as the benchmark, rose by 97.84 points, equating to a 0.4% increase, finishing at 24,846.82.
In the technology sector, BlackBerry (BB.TO) saw a rise of over 4%, while Bitfarms (BITF.TO) escalated by 6.1%. Further, Converge Technology Solutions (CTS.TO) experienced a growth of 2.85%, with Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO), Docebo Inc (DCBO.TO), and Descartes Systems Group (DSG.TO) each making gains ranging from 1.1% to 1.6%.
Within the energy sector, stocks including Vermilion Energy (VET.TO), Athabasca Oil Corp (ATH.TO), Veren Inc (VRN.TO), Advantaga Oil & Gas (AAV.TO), Nuvista Energy (NVA.TO), International Petroleum Corp (IPCO.TO), and Meg Energy (MEG.TO) advanced between 2% and 3%.
In the industrial sector, Ats Corp (ATS.TO) led with a 4.3% increase. Tfi International (TFII.TO) and Exchange Income Corp (EIF.TO) posted gains of 1.8% and 1.6%, respectively. Richelieu Hardware (RCH.TO), Waste Connections (WCN.TO), Cae Inc (CAE.TO), and Badger Infrastructure Solutions (BDGI.TO) all recorded growth in the range of 1% to 1.3%.