Toronto markets ended the trading day in positive territory on Thursday, with the S&P/TSX Composite finishing up 0.49% at the close. Gains were concentrated in the Healthcare, Materials and Energy sectors, which led the index higher.
The session's top performers on the S&P/TSX Composite included Bausch Health Companies Inc (TSX:BHC), which jumped 28.51% or 1.87 points to close at 8.43. Perpetua Resources Corp (TSX:PPTA) climbed 9.11% or 2.21 points to finish at 26.48, and Energy Fuels Inc. (TSX:EFR) was up 8.63% or 1.30 points to trade at 16.37 in late dealings.
Not all names advanced: Lightspeed Commerce Inc (TSX:LSPD) fell 12.80% or 1.98 points to end the day at 13.49. Bombardier Inc (TSX:BBDb) declined 7.90% or 28.30 points to settle at 330.01, and Thomson Reuters Corp (TSX:TRI) lost 7.33% or 10.94 points to finish at 138.41.
On the Toronto Stock Exchange, advancing issues outnumbered decliners by 576 to 375, while 76 issues were unchanged at the close.
Volatility as measured by the S&P/TSX 60 VIX eased, falling 0.80% to 14.89.
Commodity markets saw mixed moves during the session. Gold Futures for August delivery rose 1.76% or 70.95 to $4,107.25 a troy ounce. Crude oil prices slipped: the September WTI contract fell 0.39% or 0.33 to $84.13 a barrel, and the October Brent contract declined 0.84% or 0.74 to $87.35 a barrel.
In currency trading, CAD/USD was unchanged 0.28% to 0.71 and CAD/EUR unchanged 0.23% to 0.62. The US Dollar Index Futures traded lower as well, down 0.90% at 99.82.
Market participants observed notable single-stock volatility alongside sector-level moves: large percentage gains in select healthcare, materials and energy stocks contrasted with steep declines in some technology and industrial names. Overall breadth favored advancers, and the VIX reading moved slightly lower by the close.