The Canadian stock market trended upward for the fifth consecutive session, as strengthening metals prices and stronger-than-expected U.S. retail sales numbers boosted investors’ confidence. The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 55 points, or 0.3%, on Friday to settle at 20,622, extending its weekly gains to about 2.7%.
Despite weakness in healthcare and technology stocks, strong gains in other key market sectors, including metal mining, financials, and utilities, drove the TSX benchmark upward.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
IAMGOLD, Lithium Americas, Brookfield Business Partners, and MAG Silver were the top-performing TSX stocks for the day, as they inched up by at least 5.7% each.
On the flip side, Dye & Durham, Telus International, Bombardier, and Celestica dived by at least 3% each, making them the worst performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Based on their daily trade volume, B2Gold, Manulife Financial, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Suncor Energy, and Canadian Natural Resources were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
According to a Reuters report published this weekend, Bank of Montreal (TSX:BMO) is planning to shut down its indirect retail auto finance business to increase its focus on other business areas with a strong competitive position. This news might keep BMO stock volatile in today’s session, which currently trades with 1.9% year-to-date losses at $120.38 per share.
TSX today
West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures prices were trading on a bullish note early Monday morning after touching 2023’s record highs last week. At the same time, metals prices, especially silver, were also trending upward. Given these positive signals from the commodities market, I expect the resource-heavy main TSX index to trade positively at the open today.
While no major economic releases are scheduled for today, Canadian investors may want to remain cautious before the release of domestic consumer inflation data due Tuesday morning.
Market movers on the TSX today
