The TSX Composite started the new week on a mixed note after posting a minor 0.4% gain in the week ended on June 16, as investors remain worried that more interest rate hikes could potentially lead to a recession. While the U.S. markets remained closed for Juneteenth National Independence Day, the main Canadian stock market index slipped by 41 points, or 0.2%, on Monday to settle at 19,934.
Despite a minor recovery in the shares of consumer noncyclical and utility companies, most other sectors ended the session in the red, primarily led by a selloff in real estate, consumer cyclical, and industrial stocks.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Fortuna Silver Mines, IAMGOLD, Brookfield Business Partners, and International Petroleum were among the worst-performing TSX stocks yesterday, as they plunged by at least 2.2% each.
In contrast, Converge Technology, ATS, Brookfield Renewable Partners, and Canopy Growth climbed by at least 2.4% each, making them top performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange for the day.
Despite mixed copper prices, Hudbay Minerals (TSX: HBM) rose 1.6% to $6.94 per share after it announced intentions to acquire Rockcliff Metals. According to their agreement, the Toronto-headquartered copper mining company will purchase all “issued and outstanding common shares of Rockcliff that it does not already own.”
After this deal, each Rockcliff share will be converted into 0.006776 of a Hudbay common share. Hudbay’s management expects this deal to further extend mine life at its Snow Lake operations. With this, HBM stock is now up 1.5% on a year-to-date basis.
Based on their daily trade volume, Manulife Financial, Canadian Natural Resources, National Bank of Canada, and TD Bank were the most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Crude oil and gold prices were showcasing minor strength early Tuesday morning. But base metals, especially copper, were trading on a bearish note. Given these mixed signals from the commodities market, I expect the resource-heavy TSX index to remain flat at the open today.
On the economic data front, Canadian investors may want to closely monitor the monthly building permits release from the U.S. market this morning. Overall, TSX stocks may remain volatile in the next few sessions, as market participants remain focused on Canada’s retail sales data and the U.S. Fed chair Jerome Powell’s congressional testimony scheduled for later this week.
Market movers on the TSX today
