Canadian equities turned slightly positive on Wednesday after the release of weak U.S. non-farm employment and services PMI (purchasing managers index) data lent strength to the possibility that the Federal Reserve might soon slow down its monetary policy tightening process. This drove a correction in 10-year treasury bond yields in the U.S. and Canada. That’s why, despite falling by as much as 150 points in the afternoon, the S&P/TSX Composite Index recovered late in the day, ending the volatile session with a minor 14-point gain at 19,035.
While real estate, utilities, and technology stocks led the market rally yesterday, commodity-linked stocks kept sliding due mainly to extended losses in crude oil and metals prices.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
NorthWest Healthcare Properties REIT, Storagevault Canada, Primo Water, and Badger Infrastructure Solutions were the top-performing TSX stocks yesterday, as they inched up by at least 3.8% each.
In contrast, Baytex Energy, International Petroleum, Vermilion Energy, and Precision Drilling became worst performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange by registering more than 5% losses each.
Shares of Tilray Brands (TSX: TLRY) remained highly volatile in the last session after the cannabis giant announced its quarterly financial results before the market opening bell on October 4. In the first quarter of its fiscal year 2024 (ended in August), the company’s revenue increased by 15.5% year over year to US$177 million, with strong growth in its international cannabis segment sales.
While Tilray’s cannabis market share in Canada rose to 13.4% last quarter, its adjusted quarterly net loss of US$55.9 million was much wider than Street analysts’ estimate of a US$34.2 million loss. On a year-to-date basis, TLRY stock currently trades with about 16% losses.
Based on their daily trade volume, TD Bank, Baytex Energy, TC Energy, and Bank of Nova Scotia were the most heavily traded TSX stocks.
TSX today
After consistently sliding for several days, commodity prices across the board were showcasing strength in early morning trading Thursday, which could help TSX energy and mining stocks recover at the open today. Besides weekly jobless claims figures from the United States, Canadian investors may also want to keep an eye on the domestic PMI data this morning.
On the corporate events front, the Saint-Laurent-based Richelieu Hardware will announce its August quarterly results on October 5. Bay Street analysts expect the company to report quarterly earnings of $0.54 per share with $456.1 million in revenue.
Market movers on the TSX today
