Stocks traded on a mixed note on Wednesday, as investors continued to monitor updates related to the Russia-Ukraine negotiations. The TSX Composite Index ended the session with minor 11-point declines at 22,076. While an intraday strength in commodity prices across the board helped metals mining and energy stocks climb, sectors like technology and healthcare fell sharply.
Despite positive non-farm employment change data from the United States, weaker-than-expected quarterly GDP and manufacturing PMI releases hurt investors’ sentiments.
Top TSX movers and active stocks
Shares of Shopify and Hut 8 Mining fell by more than 5% each, making them the two worst-performing stocks on the TSX benchmark for the day.
Lithium Americas (TSX:LAC)(NYSE:LAC) was the top-performing Canadian stock for the day, as it inched up by around 12% on Wednesday to $46 per share. These sharp gains in LAC stock came after news reports suggested that U.S. president Joe Biden may invoke the defence production act to boost the production of minerals used in electric vehicle batteries. Lithium Americas stock continues to outperform the broader market this year, as it currently trades with about 25% year-to-date gains against a 4% rise in the main TSX benchmark.
The Montréal-based retail chain Dollarama (TSX:DOL) reported its fourth-quarter results yesterday. While the company’s total revenue rose by 11% year over year, its adjusted earnings for the quarter jumped by more than 26% from a year ago. Its stronger-than-expected January quarter earnings growth, despite supply chain and inflationary challenges boosted investors’ confidence and took Dollarama stock up by 3.6% in the last session.
Aritzia and Teck Resources were also among the top gainers on March 30, as they rose by at least 4% each.
Based on their daily trade volume, TC Energy, Scotiabank, Suncor Energy, and Cenovus Energy were the most active Canadian stocks.
TSX today
After regaining strength in the last couple of sessions, WTI crude oil prices fell by about 6% early Thursday morning. This factor, along with flat movement in metals prices, could take commodity-related TSX stock down at the open today.
Statistics Canada will release January GDP data this morning, giving investors an idea about the recent trends in the economic recovery. Investors may also want to keep an eye on the latest weekly jobless claims data from the U.S. market today.
