Canadian equities turned negative on Tuesday, despite the release of much stronger-than-expected U.S. consumer confidence data as investors continued to assess the progress in the debt ceiling deal and its implications on the economy. As a result, the S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 228 points, or 1.1%, to settle at 19,740 — its lowest closing level in over two months.
While all key market sectors ended the day in red territory, shares of energy, mining, healthcare, and technology companies fell the most, dragging the index downward.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Canopy Growth, Algoma Steel, Vermilion Energy, and Baytex Energy were the worst-performing TSX stocks for the day, as they dived by more than 5% each.
On the positive side, Canadian Western Bank (TSX: CWB) remained one of the top gainers on the Toronto Stock Exchange for the second straight day. This rally in CWB stock came after Royal Bank of Canada raised its target price on CWB stock to $35 per share, reflecting about 40% upside potential from Tuesday’s closing price of $25.05 per share. With this, Canadian Western Bank has gained 9% this week so far, staging a spectacular recovery after losing 7.9% last week due largely to its quarterly earnings miss.
Besides that, Centerra Gold and Converge Technology Solutions were also among the top performers yesterday, as they inched up by at least 2.2% each.
Based on their daily trade volume, Suncor Energy, Enbridge, Canadian Natural Resources, and Manulife Financial were the most heavily traded stocks of the day.
TSX today
After losing slightly less than 5% of its value in the last session, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures prices were extending their losses in early Wednesday trading, which could weigh on TSX energy stocks at the open today.
Apart from Canada’s gross domestic product numbers, investors may also want to closely monitor the U.S. job openings data this morning. Overall, I expect the TSX index to remain volatile today, as discussions and final voting on the U.S. debt-ceiling deal should remain in focus.
On the corporate events side, National Bank of Canada and CAE are likely to release their latest quarterly results on May 31.
Market movers on the TSX today
