TSX Today: What to Watch for in Stocks on Monday, August 29

The increasing possibility of continued aggressive interest rate hikes might keep TSX stocks volatile today.

| More on:
TSX Today

Canadian stocks turned negative on Friday after consistently rising in the previous three sessions. These losses came after the U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s latest comments about the economy raised the possibility of aggressive interest rate hikes in the coming months, triggering a sharp selloff in commodity prices across the board. The S&P/TSX Composite Index dived by 299 points, or 1.5%, on August 26 to settle at 19,873. With this, the main Canadian market benchmark posted its worst single-day losses since July 14. While all major sectors on the TSX ended the session in negative territory, shares of technology, cannabis, consumer cyclicals, and metal mining companies led the market selloff.

In his latest speech at an economic policy symposium, Powell noted, “while higher interest rates, slower growth, and softer labor market conditions will bring down inflation, they will also bring some pain to households and businesses. These are the unfortunate costs of reducing inflation.” He also apparently justified the American central bank’s aggressive policy measures, saying that “a failure to restore price stability would mean far greater pain.”

Top TSX movers and active stocks

Open Text (TSX:OTEX)(NASDAQ:OTEX) was the worst-performing TSX stock Friday, as it fell by 13.7% to $41.54 per share. These losses in OTEX stock came a day after the company announced its intentions to acquire U.K.-based infrastructure software company Micro Focus International in a deal worth nearly US$6 billion. Open Text’s management expects this acquisition to help the company accelerate its global market expansion plan and become one of the world’s largest software and cloud businesses. Year to date, OTEX stock is now down 31%.

Shares of Dye & Durham, Aurora Cannabis, and NovaGold Resources were also among the worst performers, as they fell by at least 8% each in the last session.

Advantage Oil & Gas stock became the top performer on the TSX, as it rose by 3.3% Friday to $11.93 per share, making it the only stock on the exchange with more than 1% gains for the day.

Based on their daily trade volume, Barrick Gold, Suncor Energy, Manulife Financial, and Toronto-Dominion Bank were the most active TSX Composite components in the last session.

TSX today

Early Monday morning, metals prices were extending their losses from the last week, and crude oil prices were trading on a mixed note. Given these slightly negative signals, I expect the commodity-heavy TSX Composite benchmark to open lower today. While no major economic releases are due on August 29, investors may want to remain cautious ahead of tomorrow’s U.S. consumer confidence and job openings data releases.

This article represents the opinion of the writer, who may disagree with the “official” recommendation position of a Motley Fool premium service or advisor. We’re Motley! Questioning an investing thesis — even one of our own — helps us all think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer, so we sometimes publish articles that may not be in line with recommendations, rankings or other content.

The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Fool contributor Jitendra Parashar has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

More on Tech Stocks

clock time
Tech Stocks

Long-Term Investing: 3 Top Canadian Stocks You Can Buy for Under $20 a Share

These three under-$20 stocks offer excellent buying opportunities for long-term investors.

Read more »

Businessman holding AI cloud
Tech Stocks

AI Will Transform Everything: Investors, Be Early Adopters and Buy These 3 Stocks

Investors looking to invest in companies doing big things in AI should consider these three stocks for their portfolios.

Read more »

stock research, analyze data
Tech Stocks

Forget Shopify: These Unstoppable Stocks Are Better Buys Today 

Should you consider buying Shopify stock while rivals consider a buyout or should you go for stocks with a stronger…

Read more »

A colourful firework display
Tech Stocks

2 Potentially Explosive Stocks to Buy in March

These two growth stocks are destined for many more years of market-crushing returns.

Read more »

edit CRA taxes
Tech Stocks

TFSA Millionaires Are Learning They Can Still Be Taxed

If you day trade stocks like Shopify (TSX:SHOP) in a TFSA, you may be taxed.

Read more »

Shopping and e-commerce
Tech Stocks

Where Will Lightspeed Stock Be in 5 Years?

Lightspeed stock (TSX:LSPD) continues to be touch and go, so what might happen in the next five years?

Read more »

Technology
Tech Stocks

Here’s Why Constellation Software Is a No-Brainer Tech Stock

Are you looking for tech stocks to add to your portfolio? Constellation Software is a no-brainer!

Read more »

Businessman holding AI cloud
Tech Stocks

2 AI Stocks That Wall Street Likes Better Than Nvidia

NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) may be trendy but Shopify (TSX:SHOP) has more upside according to Wall Street.

Read more »