Canadian stocks bounced back sharply on Thursday to start the new month with optimism after posting this year’s worst monthly losses in May. As most commodity prices staged a handsome recovery in the last session on the back of largely positive U.S. labour market data and the debt ceiling deal progress, the S&P/TSX Composite Index surged 100 points, or 0.5%, to settle at 19,672.
Despite weakness in Canadian market sectors like consumer non-cyclicals, utilities, and industrials, solid gains in metal mining, energy, and consumer cyclical stocks primarily drove the index upward.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Uranium stocks Nexgen Energy, Denison Mines, Cameco, and Energy Fuels were among the top-performing TSX Composite components yesterday, as they inched up more than 7% each, partly due to optimism surrounding the U.S. debt limit deal.
Shares of Laurentian Bank of Canada (TSX: LB) rose 4.5% to $31.94 per share after its largely better-than-expected quarterly financial results came out. In the quarter ended in April 2023, the Montréal headquartered bank’s revenue slid 0.9% year over year to $257.2 million due mainly to a decline in its financial markets-related revenue amid a challenging market environment.
Laurentian Bank’s adjusted quarterly earnings also fell 16.6% from a year ago to $1.16 per share but managed to exceed Street analysts’ expectation of $1.12 per share. Year to date, LB stock is now down 1.1%.
In contrast, Thomson Reuters and Stelco dived by at least 2.8% each, making them the day’s worst performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Based on their daily trade volume, Suncor Energy, Enbridge, Manulife Financial, Royal Bank of Canada, and TD Bank were the most heavily traded stocks on the first trading day of June.
TSX today
After sliding to their lowest level since March, the West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures prices recovered by slightly less than 4% yesterday, while precious metals and copper also climbed. These commodities continued to extend their gains early Friday morning, which could lift the resource-heavy TSX index at the open today.
In another key development for markets, the U.S. Senate gave its approval to the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 Thursday evening, which will raise the federal debt limit to avoid default. While this news could lead to a relief rally in TSX stocks today, it could keep the market volatile in the coming days, as investors continue to assess the newly passed bill’s implications on the economy.
Market movers on the TSX today
