Despite the consistent strength in commodity prices, the Canadian stock market fell sharply on Wednesday, as the U.S. 10-year treasury bond yields reached their highest level in over 16 years, reigniting fears of an upcoming recession. The S&P/TSX Composite Index dived by 242 points, or 1.2%, yesterday to settle at 19,451 after reaching its highest level in three weeks in the previous session.
While nearly all main market sectors ended the session in red, the TSX selloff was primarily led by heavy losses in industrial, consumer noncyclical, real estate, and bank stocks.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Shares of Lithium Americas (TSX:LAC) tanked 10% to $11.16 per share, making it the worst-performing TSX stock for the day. This decline came after the Deutsche Bank analysts downgraded their ratings on LAC stock to “hold” while trimming their target price to $7 per share. With this, LAC stock has seen 16.6% value erosion in the last five sessions.
BRP, ATS, CI Financial, and Tilray Brands were also among the bottom performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange, slipping by more than 5% each.
On the flip side, Paramount Resources and Dye & Durham inched up by over 3% each in the last session, making them the top-performing TSX stocks for the day.
According to the exchange’s daily trade volume data, TC Energy, Algonquin Power & Utilities, Tourmaline Oil, Baytex Energy, and Enbridge were the five most active stocks.
TSX today
Commodity prices were mixed early Thursday morning, pointing to a flat open for the main TSX index today. While no major domestic economic releases are due, Canadian investors may want to closely watch monthly manufacturing, existing home sales, and weekly jobless claims data from the U.S. market this morning.
The Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell is expected to speak about the economic outlook at the Economic Club of New York this afternoon. Powell’s comments about the economy and monetary policy might keep stocks volatile.
On the corporate events side, the third-quarter earnings season in Canada will start with the TSX-listed Mullen Group (TSX:MTL) announcing its financial results on October 19. Bay Street analysts expect the Okotoks-based logistics company to post $0.35 in adjusted quarterly earnings with the help of $494.4 million in revenue. On a year-to-date basis, MTL stock currently trades with an 8% decline.
Market movers on the TSX today
