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TORONTO, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Canada's main stock market in Toronto posted a modest increase on Tuesday as gains in health care and materials group outpaced decline in energy.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite moved up 37.33 points, or 0.24 percent, to close the day at 15,426.28 points. Six of the ten sub-sectors finished the session higher.
Health Care group was the biggest riser of the day, surging 3.00 percent after drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. shares soared 7.54 percent to 21.82 Canadian dollars (16.50 U.S. dollars) after announcing the sale of assets for 2.12 billion U.S. dollars to repay 30 billion U.S. dollars of outstanding debt.
In two separate deals, the Quebec-based firm agreed to sell Dendreon Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary that owns a FDA-approved vaccine for prostate cancer treatment, to Chinese conglomerate Sanpower Group for 820 million U.S. dollars. Additionally, Valeant announced the sale of skincare brands CeraVe, AcneFree, and AMBI to French cosmetic firm L'Oréal for 1.3 billion U.S. dollars. Both deals are subject to regulatory approval with an expected close in the first half of 2017.
ProMetic Life Sciences Inc., the other Quebec-based drugmaker in the health care group, saw a 5.00 percent uplift to finish the day at 2.31 Canadian dollars (1.75 U.S. dollars) a share.
Other groups advancing on the day were Materials (1.61 percent), Industrials (0.69 percent), Consumer Discretionary (0.66 percent), Financials (0.36 percent), and Utilities (0.15 percent).
The TSX Materials group, which feature producers of gold, precious metals, and raw materials, jumped as the spot price of copper soared 2.95 percent to 2.59 U.S. dollars a pound. As a result, firms that predominately mine copper posted healthy gains on the day. Shares of Vancouver-based First Quantum Minerals Ltd. and Toronto-based Lundin Mining Corporation spiked 10.06 percent and 8.96 percent, respectively.
Silver also had a strong day, finishing 1.27 percent ahead at 16.75 U.S. dollars an ounce. Meanwhile, the same weight of gold rose 0.55 percent to close at a six-week high of 1,187.30 U.S. dollars.
Industrials group was fueled by Montreal-based Bombardier being the most active traded stock with over 14 million shares exchanged. Shares finished Tuesday's session at 2.47 Canadian dollars (1.87 U.S. dollars), a 4.22 percent increase.
The TSX Consumer Discretionary group, which consists of producers of non-essentials goods such as automobiles, apparel, and entertainment, increased slightly as two clothing firms made news on the day.
Shares of Gildan Activewear Inc. rose 1.53 percent to 33.94 Canadian dollars (25.66 U.S. dollars) after the Montreal-based firm submitted the winning the bid to purchase American Apparel, a Los Angeles clothing manufacturer that filed for bankruptcy in November. The winning bid of 88 million U.S. dollars is pending Bankruptcy court approval scheduled for Thursday.
Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) shares closed the day at 10.16 Canadian dollars (7.68 U.S. dollars), a 12.86 percent plunge after adjusting down their Fiscal 2016 outlook following a 0.7 percent decline in sales during the holiday period from the previous nine weeks. Founded in 1670 as a fur trading business, HBC is Canada's oldest company and currently owns retail stores such as Hudson's Bay, Gilt, Lord & Taylor, and Saks Fifth Avenue.
Groups that finished in negative territory on the day were Energy (0.94 percent), Consumer Staples (0.25 percent), Telecommunications (0.13 percent), and Information Technology (0.12 percent).
Energy group fell as crude oil continued to slump. After suffering its worst single-day drop in two months on Monday, the price of Brent for March delivery fell 2.19 percent to 53.66 U.S. dollars a barrel, a six-week low. Subsequently, shares of Calgary-based Spartan Energy Corp. and Baytex Energy Corp. dipped 3.85 percent and 1.61 percent, respectively.
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.01 cents to close the day 0.7560 U.S. dollars.
