The Canadian stock market continued to climb for the third consecutive session on Tuesday, as recently released weak U.S. employment data lowered the possibility of an aggressive interest rate hike in the near term. The TSX Composite Index rose 146 points, or 0.7%, for the day to settle at 20,422, its highest closing level in over a month.
Despite heavy losses in cannabis stocks, nearly all other key stock market sectors on the TSX ended the day in green, with mining, energy, and consumer shares leading the rally.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
First Quantum Minerals, Centerra Gold, Wesdome Gold Mines, and Capstone Copper were the top-performing TSX stocks yesterday, as they inched up by at least 4.8% each with healthy intraday gains in metals prices.
Tilray Brands (TSX: TLRY) tanked by 9.4% yesterday to $3.38 per share, losing nearly all the gains it saw in the previous two sessions. This big selloff in TLRY stock came a day after its massively worse-than-expected February quarter financial results came out Monday after the market closing bell.
During the quarter, Tilray posted an adjusted net loss of US$1.90 per share against Street analysts’ estimate of just US$0.06-per-share loss due mainly to a weakness in the sales of its cannabis and wellness business segments. In addition, Tilray’s bid to acquire HEXO in a deal worth US$56 million seemingly didn’t please investors. With this, TLRY stock is now down about 8% on a year-to-date basis.
As Tilray’s quarterly results reflected a challenging market environment for the cannabis industry, shares of Canopy Growth and Cronos Group also plunged by at least 3.8% each on April 11 to make them the worst performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange for the day.
Based on the Canadian exchange’s daily trade volume, TD Bank, Baytex Energy, Athabasca Oil, and TC Energy were the most heavily traded stocks.
TSX today
Commodity prices were largely mixed early Wednesday morning, pointing to a flat open for the resource-heavy main TSX index today. Besides the Bank of Canada’s monetary policy report and interest rate decision, Canadian investors may want to closely monitor the latest U.S. inflation data for March and the Fed’s meeting minutes today. These unfolding economic events could shape the course of stock trends for the short term.
On the corporate events front, the TSX-listed MTY Food Group will announce its latest quarterly results on April 12. Street analysts expect the Saint Laurent-headquartered restaurant franchisor to report earnings of $0.78 per share for the February quarter with $246.8 million in sales.
Market movers on the TSX today
