The stocks market continued to trade on a mixed note Friday, as the TSX Composite Index ended the session without any notable change from its previous close. Despite an intraday rally in precious metals prices, the main Canadian index couldn’t post gains, as investors continued to digest the U.S. Fed’s latest statement and worse-than-expected jobless claims and manufacturing data.
While the shares of companies from the healthcare, utilities, and technology sectors rose, the energy and industrials sectors showcased weakness.
Top TSX movers and active stocks
Surprisingly, Nuvei (TSX: NVEI)(NASDAQ: NVEI) stock saw a sharp recovery of about 11% in the final hours of trading on Friday, making it the top gainer stock on the TSX Composite for the day. While there was no major company-specific news to fuel this rally, a tech sector-wide recovery seemingly helped this badly beaten-down stock recover. Earlier this month, on December 8, NVEI stock plunged more than 40% after a New York-based short seller severely criticized the company in its latest report.
Cronos Group, Village Farms International, and Westport Fuel Systems were among other top performers on the TSX, as they rose by at least 7% each.
In contrast, the Canadian tech stock Enghouse Systems, along with energy stocks like Enerplus, Crescent Point Energy, and Parex Resources, were the worst-performing stocks on the main Canadian index.
Based on their daily trade volume, TC Energy, Suncor Energy, Cenovus Energy, and Kinross Gold were the most active stocks on the exchange. More than 17 million shares of TC Energy changed hands in the last session.
TSX today
Concerns about rising Omicron variant cases across the world are back to haunt investors. These fears are leading to a big selloff in commodity prices early this morning — especially in crude oil and base metals. That’s one of the key reasons I expect TSX stocks to open lower on Monday, December 20 from its previous close.
In addition, other factors such as inflationary pressures and supply chain disruptions could add to investors’ pessimism in the near term.
