Toronto index set for biggest weekly drop since March 2020 By Reuters

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A sign board displaying Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) stock information is 10 yuan gold trading platformseen in Toronto June 23, 2014. Canada's main stock index was little changed on Monday as weakness in financial and energy shares offset gains in the materials sector.

By Amal S

(Reuters) - Canada's main stock was set for its biggest weekly drop since the pandemic-driven market rout in March 2020, even as gains in healthcare and technology firms lifted the market on Friday.

At 9:48 a.m. ET (13:48 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 150.68 points, or 0.79%, at 19,154.74, with all the sub-sectors trading higher.

The index was recovering after a brutal selloff on Thursday on fears that aggressive interest rate hikes from major central banks could trigger a recession. For the week, it has lost 5.8%.

"After getting crushed yesterday on concerns over tightening monetary policy and a weakening global economy, stock markets have been trying to bounce back this morning, but so far gains have been small relative to recent losses," said Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management.

"So for the Canadian market, things just looks like it might be consolidating a little bit."

Healthcare shares rose 2.3%, supported by gains of 2.5% and 4.4% in pot producers Cronos Group (NASDAQ:CRON), Aurora Cannabis (NASDAQ:ACB) and Tilray (NASDAQ:TLRY) Brands.

The technology sector added 1.5%, with Lightspeed Commerce leading gains with a surge of 6%.

Bausch Health Companies (NYSE:BHC) Inc rose 1.8% even as it suspended plans for the initial public offering of its unit Solta Medical due to challenging market conditions.

On the economic front, producer prices in Canada rose by 1.7% in May from April on higher prices for energy and petroleum products, as well as chemicals and chemical products, Statistics Canada said.

Foreign investors bought a net C$22.23 billion ($17.10 billion) of Canadian securities in April, led by corporate bonds, following a revised C$46.47 billion total purchase in March, Statistics Canada said.

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