Stocks in Canada traded on a slightly positive note Friday, despite ongoing worries about a looming recession, as investors largely reacted positively to the better-than-expected latest U.S. existing-home sales data. The S&P/TSX Composite Index ended the volatile session with 96-point, or 0.5%, gains at 19,981. While most healthcare stocks witnessed a sharp selloff, all other key sectors on the Toronto Stock Exchange showcased strength primarily led by optimism in shares of industrials, consumer cyclicals, and mining companies.
Top TSX movers and active stocks
Shares of Cronos Group (TSX: CRON) jumped by 6.6% in the last session to settle at $4.19 per share, marking its biggest single-day gains in November so far. This rally in CRON stock came a few days after the Toronto headquartered cannabis firm appointed James Holm its new chief financial officer, replacing Bob Madore. Before his appointment at Cronos Group, Holm worked as the global vice president of finance transformation at the American critical digital infrastructure company Vertiv. On a year-to-date basis, Cronos stock now trades with about 16% losses.
Filo Mining, Primo Water, Pan American Silver, and Gildan Activewear were also among the top-performing TSX stocks on November 18, as they inched up by at least 3.5% each.
In contrast, shares of Canopy Growth, Tilray Brands, and Converge Technology Solutions by at least 4.6% each, making them the worst-performing TSX Composite components for the day.
Based on their daily trade volume, Manulife Financial, Enbridge, Suncor Energy, Algonquin Power & Utilities, and Barrick Gold continued to be the most active stocks on the exchange for the third session in a row.
TSX today
Commodity prices across the board, including crude oil and metals, continued to extend their last week’s losses early Monday morning. Given that, I expect the main TSX index to open lower today with expected declines in Canadian mining and energy stocks.
While no important economic releases are due today, stocks could remain volatile ahead of the U.S. federal open market committee’s latest meeting minutes, which are due to be released later this week. Also, the commodity-heavy TSX index is likely to underperform its U.S. peers due mainly to the recent dip in oil and metals prices.
