Canadian stocks turned slightly bearish on Friday, despite stronger-than-expected U.S. non-farm payrolls and unemployment data, as investors remained worried about the renewed coronavirus-driven restrictions in China. The S&P/TSX Composite Index slipped by 40 points, or 0.2%, for the day to settle at 20,486. Despite a sharp rally in the shares of cannabis companies on the Toronto Stock Exchange, other key stock market sectors, such as real estate and technology, witnessed weakness. Investors also seemed cautious ahead of the Bank of Canada’s upcoming interest rate decision due later this week.
Top TSX movers and active stocks
Shares of Canadian Western Bank (TSX: CWB) slipped by 4.5% to settle at $24.28 per share after its latest quarterly results came out. In the October 2022 quarter, the Edmonton-based bank reported a 7% year-over-year increase in its total revenue to $279.8 billion but missed analysts’ estimate of $283.1 million. Despite an increase in revenues, Canadian Western Bank’s higher non-interest expenses and rising provision for credit losses on performing loans affected its bottom line in the last quarter. As a result, its adjusted quarterly earnings fell by 15% from a year ago to $0.88 per share, disappointing investors. On a year-to-date basis, CWB stock now trades with 33% losses.
Wesdome Gold Mines, Nuvei, ECN Capital, Brookfield Asset Management, and CAE were also among the worst-performing TSX stocks on December 2, as they fell by more than 3% each.
On the flip side, cannabis stocks, including Tilray Brands, Canopy Growth, and Cronos Group, jumped by at least 6% each after the news came out about U.S. president Joe Biden signing the medical marijuana and cannabidiol research expansion act.
Based on their daily trade volume, Suncor Energy, Barrick Gold, Enbridge, TC Energy, and Canadian Natural Resources were the most active stocks on the exchange. Nearly 23.6 million shares of Suncor changed hands on the exchange in the last session.
TSX today
Early Monday morning, crude oil prices were showcasing a recovery on reports of easing COVID restrictions in some Chinese cities. In contrast, metals prices were largely trading on a slightly negative note. Given that, I expect the main TSX index to open on a slightly positive note with the help of expected gains in energy stocks. While no major domestic economic releases are due, Canadian investors may want to keep an eye on the U.S. non-manufacturing purchasing managers index this morning.
Shares of Canadian companies like Dollarama, Descartes Systems, North West Company, and Laurentian Bank of Canada are expected to remain volatile in the next few sessions, as they are expected to release their latest quarterly results later this week.
