The equities market turned negative on Tuesday with a sharp pullback in key sectors like technology, healthcare, consumer cyclicals, and real estate. The TSX Composite Index fell by 132 points or 0.7% to settle at 18,973 despite a rally in the shares of mining companies due to a recovery in metals prices. This sharp market selloff intensified after the latest U.S. consumer confidence numbers reached their lowest level since February 2021 — refueling the debate about a looming recession.
Top TSX movers and active stocks
Shares of Shopify (TSX: SHOP)(NYSE:SHOP) plunged by 13.6% to $40.69 per share after the company announced layoffs, citing slowing e-commerce growth in the post-pandemic era. The Canadian e-commerce giant’s latest move to cut nearly 10% of its workforce primarily affects roles in its recruiting, support, and sales teams. After posting over 57% year-over-year sales growth in 2021, Shopify’s total revenue grew by 21.7% in the first quarter this year, triggering a massive crash in its stock. Year to date, SHOP stock now trades with 77% losses.
Nuvei, Canada Goose, Aritzia, Canopy Growth, and Interfor were also among the worst-performing TSX stocks on July 26, as they fell by at least 6% each.
On the positive side, shares of gold miners like OceanaGold, New Gold, and Wesdome Gold Mines rose by at least 4.4% each with the help of a rally in metals prices, making them the top-performing TSX Composite components.
Based on their daily trade volume, Athabasca Oil, Royal Bank of Canada, Manulife Financial, and Enbridge were the most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Early Wednesday morning, metals prices were continuing to recover, while WTI crude oil futures prices were showcasing weakness, hovering right above the $95-a-barrel mark. Given these mixed signals from the commodities market, I expect the main TSX index to open on a flat note today. As the Q2 corporate earnings season in Canada heats up, important economic events from the U.S. market like the Fed’s interest rate decision and press conference, durable goods orders, and pending home sales numbers will also add to the volatility in TSX stocks on July 27.
On the corporate events front, several Canadian companies, including Shopify, Baytex Energy, Alamos Gold, Kinross Gold, Allied Properties REIT, Spin Master, Lundin Mining, CGI, Rogers Communications, Teck Resources, and Cargojet, are expected to release their latest quarterly results today.
