The Canadian equities market started the second quarter on a bullish note with the help of steep gains in energy stocks, as major oil-producing countries’ decision to cut daily oil output triggered a massive rally in WTI (West Texas Intermediate) crude oil futures prices. As a result, the TSX Composite Index advanced by 178 points, or 0.9%, on Monday to 20,278, posting its seventh consecutive day of gains.
Besides big gains in energy shares, other commodity-linked stocks on the Toronto Stock Exchange also witnessed healthy gains due mainly to continued strength in gold prices. In contrast, other key market sectors, including healthcare, utilities, and real estate, remained in the red territory.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Shares of Teck Resources (TSX:TECK.B) popped 18.7% yesterday to $58.59 per share after its board of directors rejected an acquisition proposal from the Swiss mining giant Glencore. In a statement, the Vancouver-based company’s chief executive officer Jonathan Price said, “The Glencore proposal would expose Teck shareholders to a large thermal coal business, an oil trading business and significant jurisdictional risk.”
Instead, Teck Resources currently wants to remain focused on its planned separation into Teck Metals and Elk Valley Resources, which it expects to create opportunities to unlock more value for its shareholders. After this rally, Teck stock now trades with 15.7% year-to-date gains.
Energy stocks like MEG Energy, Cenovus Energy, and Baytex Energy were also among the top-performing TSX stocks in the last session, as they inched up by at least 6.9% each due to rallying oil prices.
On the flip side, Brookfield Renewable Partners, Bausch Health, Pet Valu Holdings, and BELLUS Health were the bottom performers, as they slipped by at least 3.7% each.
Based on their daily trade volume, Yamana Gold, Toronto-Dominion Bank, TC Energy, and Suncor Energy were the most active Canadian stocks. About 23.6 million shares of Yamana changed hands on the exchange on April 3.
TSX today
After rallying nearly 5% in the last session, WTI crude oil prices were extending gains early Tuesday morning. Similarly, gold and silver were also trading on a positive note. Given these bullish signals from the commodities market, I expect the resource-heavy main TSX index to open slightly higher from its previous closing today.
Although no key domestic economic releases are due, Canadian investors may want to monitor the latest monthly job openings data from the United States this morning.
Market movers on the TSX today
