Canadian equities traded on a weak note for the third session on Wednesday, even as the U.S. Federal Reserve announced its decision to keep key interest rates steady but signalled that it wouldn’t hesitate to raise rates further if needed to bring down inflation. The S&P/TSX Composite Index posted a minor loss of four points in the last session to 20,215, its lowest closing level in more than a week.
Despite healthy intraday gains in market sectors like healthcare, metal mining, and consumer non-cyclicals, weakness in technology and energy stocks dragged the TSX benchmark downward.
The Fed’s updated economic projections suggest that inflationary pressures might stick around much longer than earlier expected, which might force the central bank to keep the federal funds rate elevated in the coming years.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Shares of Nuvei (TSX: NVEI) dived by 4.6% to $21.12 per share, extending its week-to-date losses to 9.7%. Besides the latest round of selloff in tech stocks, yesterday’s declines in NVEI stock came after Philip Fayer, its founder, chairman, and chief executive officer, revealed in a regulatory filing that he acquired 22,151 subordinate voting shares in the Montréal-headquartered payment technology company on Wednesday.
With its roughly 39% year-to-date losses, Nuvei is now among the three worst-performing TSX Composite components of 2023.
Lithium Americas and Spartan Delta were also among the bottom performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange in the last session, as they plunged by more than 3% each.
On the flip side, Bausch Health Companies rallied by more than 8% to $11.22 per share after Jefferies raised its target price on the stock and upgraded its rating to “buy.”
NovaGold Resources and Equinox Gold were also among the top-performing TSX stocks yesterday, as they inched up by at least 4% each.
Based on their daily trade volume, TC Energy, Canadian Natural Resources, Manulife Financial, and Baytex Energy were the most heavily traded stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Commodity prices across the board were trading on a bearish note early Monday morning, which could pressure the main TSX index at the open today. While no major domestic economic releases are due, Canadian investors may want to keep a close eye on the monthly manufacturing, home sales, and weekly jobless claims data from the United States this morning.
Overall, the stock market, especially tech shares, may remain volatile, as investors continue to assess the Fed’s latest statement and economic projections.
Note that the main TSX index has closed below the 50-day SMA (simple moving average) in the last two sessions. As most traders widely follow this SMA, it could be considered a signal of the underlying short-term weakness in the market benchmark, especially when seen in conjunction with weak fundamentals.
Market movers on the TSX today
