Canadian stocks bounced back on Monday to start the new quarter on an upbeat note after falling sharply in the last couple of quarters. The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose by 437 points, or 2.4%, to settle at 18,881, posting its biggest single-day gains since April 2020.
Notably, prices of West Texas Intermediate crude oil, gold, and silver futures contracts jumped by 4.5%, 2.3%, and 8.8%, respectively, in the last session. This drove a spectacular rally in energy and metal mining stocks on the exchange. Also, rising shares of companies from other key sectors like industrials, technology, and healthcare underpinned the market recovery.
Top TSX movers and active stocks
A rally in commodity markets helped Endeavour Silver, Hudbay Minerals, Ivanhoe Mines, and First Majestic Silver stocks rise by at least 8% each, making them the top-performing TSX stocks for the day.
Shares of ATS Automation Tooling Systems (TSX:ATA) were also among the top gainers, as it inched up by 9.4% yesterday to $39.88 per share. This rally in ATA stock came after the Cambridge-based automation solutions provider company revealed it has secured a US$167 million order to help one of its existing global automotive customers expand automated battery module and pack assembly systems capacity for electric vehicles in North America.
In another press release, ATS Automation announced its intentions to acquire a Bangkok-based automation firm ZI-ARGUS without disclosing the deal’s financial terms. ATS Automation stock now trades with 20.6% year-to-date losses.
On the flip side, Saputo, Uni-Select, Boyd Group Services, and Park Lawn were the worst-performing TSX stocks yesterday, as they fell by more than 2% each.
Based on their daily trade volume, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Suncor Energy, TC Energy, and Bank of Nova Scotia were the most active stocks on the exchange on October 3.
TSX today
Early Tuesday morning, commodity prices across the board continued to trade on a bullish note, which should help TSX mining and energy stocks open higher today. While no major domestic economic releases are due today, Canadian investors may want to keep a close eye on the U.S. job openings data for August this morning.
On the corporate events front, NovaGold Resources is set to announce its August quarter results after the market closing bell on October 4. Street analysts expect the Utah-based company to report a net loss of US$0.04 per share for the quarter.
