Canadian equities registered big losses for the third straight day as better-than-expected U.S. gross domestic product data raised the possibility of more rate hikes in the near term. Besides that, slow progress in reaching a deal to raise U.S. federal debt limit, largely weak Canadian bank earnings, and declining commodity prices added pessimism, taking the S&P/TSX Composite Index down by 154 points, or 0.8%, for the session to settle at 19,774.
While all key sectors, except industrials, ended the day in the red, shares of healthcare, metals mining, and energy companies dived the most. With this, the main TSX index remains on track to end the fifth consecutive week with losses.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Canopy Growth, Equinox Gold, IAMGOLD, and Vermilion Energy were the worst-performing TSX stocks yesterday, as they plunged by more than 5% each.
Shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSX:TD) fell 4.2% to $77.78 per share, as its weak quarterly earnings disappointed investors. In the quarter ended in April 2023, the second-largest Canadian bank by market cap posted a 13.6% year-over-year increase in its total revenue to $12.5 billion with the help of higher margins and volume growth in its home market.
However, TD Bank’s adjusted quarterly earnings of $1.94 per share fell nearly 4% from a year ago due to poor performance of its wholesale banking segment, failing to meet analysts’ estimate of $2.07 per share. On a year-to-date basis, TD stock is now down 11.3%.
On the flip side, Dye & Durham and Celestica were the top performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Thursday, as they inched up by more than 4% each.
Based on their daily trade volume, TD Bank, Suncor Energy, Enbridge, and Manulife Financial were the most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
After yesterday’s sharp declines, commodity prices across the board were positive early Friday morning, pointing to a higher open for the resource-heavy TSX index today. While no important domestic economic releases are due, Canadian investors may want to keep an eye on the U.S. personal consumption expenditure and durable goods orders data this morning, besides the ongoing debt ceiling negotiations.
On the corporate events side, the Edmonton-headquartered Canadian Western Bank is expected to announce its quarterly financial results on May 26. Street analysts expect the bank’s April quarter earnings to be around $0.77 per share with $270.8 million in revenue.
Market movers on the TSX today
