(fxcue news) - The Canadian market is up in positive territory a little past noon on Thursday, with stocks from materials, consumer staples and energy sectors posting strong gains. Investors are digesting U.S. producer price inflation data and the European Central Bank's interest rate decision. The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which climbed to 23,406.87, is up 166.50 points or 0.72% at 23,377.67 nearly half an hour past noon. The Materials Capped Index is climbing more than 3.5%. B2Gold Corp (BTO.TO) is soaring nearly 11%. First Majestic Silver Corp (AG.TO) is surging nearly 10%, while Equinox Gold Corp (EQX.TO), Oceanagold Corp (OGC.TO), Ssr Mining Inc (SSRM.TO), Fortuna Silver Mines (FVI.TO), MAG Silver Corp (MAG.TO), New Gold Inc (NGD.TO), Novagold (NG.TO) and Silvercrest Metals (SIL.TO) are up 6.5 to 8%. Consumer staples stock Empire Company (EMP.A.TO) is up nearly 7%. The company reported net earnings of $207.8 million ($0.86 per share) for the first quarter ended August 3, 2024, compared to net earnings of $261.0 million ($1.03 per share) last year. For the quarter, the Company recorded adjusted net earnings of $218.7 million ($0.90 per share) compared to $196.2 million ($0.78 per share) last year. Jamieson Wellness (JWEL.TO) is gaining 2.3%. Premium Brands Holdings Corp (PBH.TO), Loblaw (L.TO), George Weston (WN.TO), Saputo Inc (SAP.TO) and Metro Inc (MRU.TO) are up 1 to 2%. Energy stocks Tamarack Valley Energy (TVE.TO), Paramount Resources (POU.TO), MEG Energy Corp (MEG.TO), Africa Oil Corp (AOI.TO), Veren Inc (VRN.TO), Athabasca Oil Corp (ATH.TO), Birchcliff Energy (BIR.TO) and Baytex Energy (BTE.TO) are up 2.2 to 2.7%. The U.S. Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand crept up by 0.2% in August, while revised data showed prices were unchanged in July. Economists had expected producer prices to inch up by 0.1%, matching the uptick originally reported for the previous month. In Canadian economic news, data from Statistics Canada showed the total value of building permits surged by 22.1% month-over-month to $12.39 billion in July, following an upwardly revised 13% decline in the previous month.