The Canadian stock market rally gained steam on Friday, as a better-than-expected U.S. nonmanufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) seemingly boosted investors’ confidence. The S&P/TSX Composite Index inched up by 244 points, or 1.2%, in the last session to settle at 20,582, posting its biggest single-day rally since January 6.
While all key stock market sectors ended the day in green territory, shares of technology, energy, and mining companies led the market rally. With this, the TSX benchmark ended the week with solid 1.8% gains after consistently falling in the previous three weeks.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Shares of Park Lawn (TSX: PLC) popped 8.6% on March 3 to $28.62 per share — a day after its upbeat December quarter results came out. In the final quarter of 2022, the Toronto-headquartered funeral and cemetery provider’s total revenue increased by 9.1% year over year to US$86.1 million with the help of new acquisitions it made in the last two years.
While Park Lawn’s adjusted quarterly earnings of US$0.24 per share fell 19.7% from a year ago, it was still higher compared to Street analysts’ estimate of US$0.22 per share. On a year-to-date basis, PLC stock has now advanced by 10.7%.
Algoma Steel, Ballard Power Systems, Ero Copper, Nuvei, and Spartan Delta were also among the top-performing TSX stocks Friday, as they inched up by more than 6% each.
In contrast, Pason Systems, Pet Valu, Enghouse Systems, and Secure Energy Services were the bottom performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange, as they slipped by at least 2% each.
Based on their daily trade volume, Suncor Energy, Enbridge, Manulife Financial, and Canadian Natural Resources were the most active Canadian stocks for the day.
TSX today
After showcasing good strength in the last session, commodity prices across the board were showcasing weakness early Monday morning, pointing to a slightly lower open for the resource-heavy TSX index today. While no key economic releases are due from the United States, Canadian investors will watch the domestic PMI data closely this morning. Moreover, investors may remain cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s testimony, which is scheduled for Tuesday.
On the corporate events front, TSX-listed companies like Energy Fuels, Element Fleet Management, and Cargojet are expected to release their latest quarterly results on March 6.
Market movers on the TSX today
