Canadian stocks inched up for the fifth consecutive session on Thursday, as a significant weakness in the U.S. wholesale inflation data further lowered the possibility of aggressive rate hikes. The S&P/TSX Composite Index climbed 110 points, or 0.5%, for the day to settle at 20,564.
As TSX investors continued to welcome the Bank of Canada’s decision to hold interest rates steady, sharp gains in stock market sectors like technology, financials, and healthcare drove the market benchmark up. In addition, steep gains in metals prices triggered a rally in mining stocks.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Ero Copper, First Quantum Minerals, Bombardier, and Capstone Copper were the top-performing stocks on the Toronto Stock Exchange yesterday, as they advanced by more than 5% each.
While no TSX Composite component witnessed more than 2% intraday loss, Cenovus Energy, Boyd Group Services, and Spin Master were the bottom performers for the day, as they slipped by at least 1.5% each.
Shares of Cogeco Communications (TSX:CCA) fell 1.3% on April 13 to $65.48 per share after its largely weak quarterly financial results came out. In the February quarter, the Montréal-headquartered telecom firm’s revenue saw a minor increase of 1.1% year over year to $736.7 million — slightly lower than analysts’ expectation of $740.4 million.
Cogeco’s adjusted quarterly earnings dived 8% from a year ago to $2.19 per share, as it continued to face challenging economic and competitive environments. With this, CCA stock now trades with nearly 15% year-to-date losses and has a dividend yield of around 4.7%.
Based on the Canadian exchange’s daily trade volume data, TD Bank, Cenovus Energy, Canadian Natural Resources, and Suncor Energy were the most active stocks yesterday.
TSX today
West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures and gold prices were trading on a slightly negative note early Friday morning, which could pressure commodity-linked on the TSX at the open today. Although no key domestic economic releases are due, Canadian investors should closely monitor the latest U.S. retail sales numbers this morning.
Overall, the main TSX index remains on track to end the third consecutive week in the green territory, as it has already advanced 1.8% on a week-to-date basis.
Market movers on the TSX today
