Stocks continued to slide down for the third consecutive day on Friday, as the ongoing geopolitical concerns kept investors on their toes. The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell by 168 points, or 0.8%, on February 18 to settle at 21,008. While all key sectors ended the day in the negative territory, healthcare, energy, basic materials, and industrials were among the worst-performing sectors. Also, worse-than-expected Canadian retail sales data for December added pessimism.
Top TSX movers and active stocks
Superior Plus (TSX: SPB) was the worst-performing stock on the TSX Composite benchmark, as it dived by 13.5% in the last session to $11.28 per share. This massive selloff in its stock came after the company released its Q4 2021 financial results. Its revenue rose by 17.2% year over year to $824.9 million during the quarter. However, Superior Plus registered a sharp 73% drop in its adjusted earnings for the December quarter to $0.12 per share. With this, it also missed analysts’ consensus earnings estimate of $0.30 per share by a huge margin, triggering a selloff in SPB stock.
Ritchie Bros Auctioneers, Hut 8 Mining, and Cronos Group were also among the worst-performing Canadian stocks on Friday, as they lost at least 6% each.
In contrast, Air Canada (TSX: AC) stock defied the gravity to rise by more than 3% in the last session after the company announced its better-than-expected Q4 financial results. To add optimism, its management also pointed towards promising advanced sales trends and recovering air travel demand. With this, Air Canada stock continues to outperform the broader market, as it currently trades with more than 20% year-to-date gains against a 1% drop in the TSX Composite Index.
Based on their daily trade volume, Suncor Energy, Sun Life Financial, Barrick Gold, and Bombardier were the most active Canadian stocks on February 18.
TSX today
Most commodity prices — except for copper — are showcasing good strength early Tuesday morning. This factor could help TSX energy and precious metals mining stocks rise at the open today. However, continued Russia-Ukraine geopolitical tensions are likely to keep pressuring stocks from other sectors. While no major domestic economic releases are due today, Canadian investors could keep a close eye on the latest consumer confidence data from the U.S. market this morning.
Canadian companies like CI Financial, Gibson Energy, and B2Gold are expected to release their latest quarterly results on February 22.
