The Canadian equities market traded on a positive note on Friday after weaker-than-expected domestic retail sales data raised the possibility that the Bank of Canada could soon pause interest rate hikes. The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 111 points, or 0.5%, in the last session, to settle at 20,548, notching its highest close since May 9.
While all key market sectors ended the session in the green, the market rally was primarily led by solid gains in energy, healthcare, and consumer non-cyclical stocks.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Mullen Group (TSX:MTL) rallied 6% to $16.01 per share on July 21, a day after releasing its June quarter earnings report. During the quarter, the Okotoks-headquartered logistics company’s total revenue fell 5.2% year over year to $494.3 million due mainly to softer freight and logistics services demand.
Nonetheless, Mullen’s adjusted quarterly earnings of $0.39 per share beat analysts’ estimate of $0.32 per share. Interestingly, many notable Bay Street analysts have raised their target prices on MTL stock after its latest earnings event. The stock currently trades with 10% year-to-date gains.
Imperial Oil, Crescent Point Energy, North West Company, and Athabasca Oil were also among the top gainers on the Toronto Stock Exchange, as they rose at least 2.4% each.
In contrast, CGI, Lithium Americas, Aritzia, and Prairiesky Royalty dived by at least 2.8% each, making them the worst-performing TSX stock for the day.
Based on their daily trade volume, Royal Bank of Canada, Manulife Financial, Toronto-Dominion Bank, and Suncor Energy were the most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Commodity prices across the board were mixed early Monday morning, pointing to a flat open for the resource-heavy main TSX index today. While no major domestic economic releases are due, Canadian investors may want to keep an eye on the latest services purchasing managers index data from the United States this morning.
Overall, I expect TSX stocks to remain highly volatile this week, as investors await the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision and latest corporate earnings.
Market movers on the TSX today
