Toronto market pares weekly decline on seasonal optimism
TSX ends up 0.4% at 24,255.16
For the week, the index declines 0.9%
Tech sector ends 1.3% higher
Consumer discretionary adds 2%
Updates at market close
By Nikhil Sharma and Fergal Smith
Nov 1 (Reuters) -Canada's main stock index rose on Friday, led by technology and consumer discretionary shares, as investors took advantage of the previous day's sharp decline and cheered the move into a seasonally strong period for the market.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE ended up 98.29 points, or 0.4%, at 24,255.16, after posting on Wednesday its biggest weekly decline in nearly three months.
"I think there's probably a bit of rallying given the sell-off that happened yesterday," said Kevin Headland, co-chief investment strategist at Manulife Investment Management.
"Seasonality tends to be strong" as November and December are typically strong months for the index, Headland added.
Domestic economic data was upbeat. It showed that manufacturing activity increased at a faster pace in October as production and employment picked up in anticipation of rising orders.
The consumer discretionary sector climbed 2%, helped by a 6.5% jump in the shares of Magna International MG.TO after the auto parts maker reported its third-quarter results.
Shares of Air Canada AC.TO also posted strong gains, rising nearly 14%, after the company raised its annual core profit forecast and announced share buybacks, benefiting from strong demand for international travel.
The move in Air Canada boosted industrials, which ended 0.7%higher, while technology added 1.3% and heavily weighted financials were up 0.9%.
For the week, the index was down 0.9% as energy and interest-rate sensitive stocks lost ground and investors took some profits ahead of Tuesday's U.S. presidential election.
Energy fell 0.9% on Friday as oil CLc1 gave back much of its earlier gains, while the utilities and real estate sectors fell 0.9% and 0.8% respectively as bond yields rose.
Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto and Nikhil Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore and Alistair Bell
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