* TSX up 137.1 points, or 1 percent, to 13,895.48
* Nine of the TSX's 10 main groups rise
By Alastair Sharp
TORONTO, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Investors in Canadian stocks on
Tuesday cheered a resounding Liberal election victory that could
loosen government purse strings to kickstart growth, as
construction firms and railways rose with heavyweight resource
and financial stocks.
The Liberals' strong showing removed the uncertainty that
could have resulted from a minority government. And while the
new government plans to run deficits, it has also said it would
keep corporate tax rates steady.
"People are breathing a sigh of relief and they are looking
for those areas that should show a positive impact from what the
Liberals were talking about," said Irwin Michael, portfolio
manager at ABC Funds.
During the campaign, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau pledged
to run a C$10 billion ($7.7 billion) annual budget deficit for
three years to invest in infrastructure and help stimulate
Canada's anemic economic growth.
"New subways and new infrastructure will create employment
and will offset some weakness in the commodity portions of the
economy," Portfolio Management Corp's Darren Sissons wrote in a
note.
Among the stocks to jump were construction companies
SNC-Lavalin Group SNC.TO , which added 2.7 percent to C$43.50,
and Aecon Group Inc ARE.TO , which gained 3.8 percent to
C$15.26.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index
.GSPTSE had gained 137.1 points, or 1 percent, to 13,895.48 by
10:54 a.m. ET (1454 GMT).
Nine of the index's 10 main groups were higher, with
financials up 2.2 percent and energy stocks jumping 3.6 percent
even as the price of oil held steady. O/R
Advancers outnumbered decliners by 207 to 32, for a
6.47-to-1 ratio on the upside.
The two main railways also rose, with Canadian Pacific
Railway CP.TO CP.N up 2.5 percent to C$194.93 after
reporting profit that beat expectations on higher freight rates
and lower operating costs. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N12K4A0
Its rival Canadian National Railway CNR.TO added 1.3
percent to C$78.07.
Healthcare stocks were the only group to pull back, weighed
down by a 5.6 percent drop in Valeant Pharmaceuticals (N:VRX)
International Inc VRX.TO , to C$200.71.
Progressive Waste Solutions BIN.TO was the second biggest
weight, plunging 17.5 percent to C$29.07 after the waste
management company cut its earnings forecast. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N12K4IY
Outside the main index, Canada's nascent medical marijuana
sector was higher. Trudeau has talked about legalizing and
shares of some of the better-recognized companies surged after
the Liberal sweep. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N12K0ZL
TSX Venture-listed Canopy Growth Corp CGC.V , the first
company to go public in the sector in Canada last year, rose
some 9 percent to C$2.37.
($1 = 1.2941 Canadian dollars)
(Editing by Chris Reese)