Canadian Stocks Surge, More Than Offsetting Yesterday's Pullback

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks moved sharply higher during trading on Tuesday, more than offsetting the pullback seen in the previous session.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index surged early in the session and remained firmly positive throughout the day before closing up 297.12 points or 1.2 percent at 24,305.98.

Healthcare stocks saw substantial strength after helping lead the market lower on Monday, with the S&P/TSX Capped Health Care Index spiking by 4.0 percent.

Considerable strength was also visible among energy stocks, as reflected by the 2.1 percent jump by S&P/TSX Capped Energy Index.

The rally by energy stocks came as the price of crude oil saw a significant rebound after the U.S .Treasury Department announced sanctions targeting Iranian national and liquified petroleum gas magnate Seyed Asadoollah Emamjomeh and his corporate network.

Consumer discretionary, financial and technology stocks also saw notable strength, while gold stocks bucked the uptrend amid a pullback by the price of the precious metal.

In economic news, Statistics Canada released a report showing prices of products manufactured in Canada rose 0.5 percent month over month in March and surged 4.7 percent year-over-year.

Meanwhile, prices of raw materials purchased by manufacturers operating in Canada declined 1.0 percent in March but still jumped by 3.9 percent year-over-year.