The rally in the Canadian stock market gained steam on Friday, as investors reacted positively to the U.S. debt-ceiling deal and significantly better-than-expected non-farm payroll numbers. As a result, the S&P/TSX Composite Index surged 352 points, or 1.8%, for the day to settle at 20,025, marking its best daily performance in more than six months.
Also, a sharp recovery in the prices of energy products, including crude oil and natural gas, boosted energy investors’ confidence. While all key market sectors ended the session in the green, the index rally was mainly led by the shares of energy, consumer cyclicals, and real estate companies. With this, the main TSX benchmark posted a 0.5% weekly gain, ending its five-week-long losing streak.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Hudbay Minerals, Headwater Exploration, Ivanhoe Mines, and Teck Resources were among the top-performing TSX stocks for the day, as they inched up by at least 5.7% each in the last session.
In contrast, a nearly 1.5% intraday decline in gold prices drove the shares of gold mining companies like OceanaGold, K92 Mining, Lundin Gold, and Torex Gold down by more than 3% each, making them the worst performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange for the day.
Based on their daily trade volume, Suncor Energy, Enbridge, Crescent Point Energy, and Canadian Natural Resources were the most heavily traded stocks on the exchange.
Centerra Gold (TSX:CG) became the top gainer Canadian stock for the week, as it rallied by 18.7% last week to $8.20 per share. This spectacular rally in CG stock could be attributed to the Toronto-headquartered gold miner’s recent announcement that the Turkish environmental ministry has approved the amended Environmental Impact Assessment for its Öksüt mine.
With this, Centerra Gold plans to “restart full operations at Öksüt in the coming weeks.” Year to date, its share prices are now up 17%.
TSX today
West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures prices jumped as much as 4% early Monday morning after Saudi Arabia revealed its plan to cut production further amid growing macroeconomic concerns. While crude oil gave up some of these gains later, it was still up more than 1.5% before the Canadian market opening bell, which could lift TSX energy stocks at the open today.
While no domestic economic releases are due, Canadian investors may want to closely monitor the U.S. services and non-manufacturing purchasing managers index data this morning.
Market movers on the TSX today
