Canadian stocks declined for the seventh straight session on Thursday, marking their longest losing streak in more than five years, as strong economic data from the United States reignited fears that the Federal Reserve might raise interest rates further. The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 73 points, or 0.4%, yesterday to settle at 18,875, its lowest closing level in over a year.
On the one hand, largely mixed corporate results, along with the release of better-than-expected U.S. quarterly gross domestic product, monthly durable goods orders, and pending home sales data, led to renewed buying in utility stocks. On the other hand, a selloff in most other sectors pressured the TSX index, primarily led by heavy losses in healthcare, industrial, and tech stocks.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Shares of Celestica (TSX:CLS) tanked by 10.3% in the last session to $31.36 per share, making it the worst-performing TSX stock for the day. This selloff in CLS stock came a day after the Toronto-headquartered hardware platforms and supply chain solutions provider announced its third-quarter results.
In the September quarter, Celestica’s revenue rose 6.2% year over year to US$2.04 billion, while its adjusted quarterly earnings increased by 25% from a year ago to $0.65 per share. However, the company expects its fourth-quarter revenue to be between US$2.00 and US$2.15 billion, reflecting no major sequential improvement, which could be one of the reasons why investors reacted negatively to its earnings report. But despite its recent losses, CLS stock is up 105.5% on a year-to-date basis.
Lithium Americas (Argentina), Waste Connections, and Spin Master were also among the bottom performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange yesterday, as they dived by at least 6.4% each.
On the positive side, Storagevault Canada, Allied Properties REIT, Stelco Holdings, and Methanex jumped by at least 5% each, making them the top-performing TSX stocks for the day.
Based on their daily trade volume, Manulife Financial, Enbridge, Royal Bank of Canada, Whitecap Resources, and Suncor Energy were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Commodity prices were largely bullish early Friday morning, which could lift TSX mining and energy stocks at the open today. Besides the U.S. personal consumption expenditure numbers, Canadian investors may also want to keep an eye on the monthly domestic budget balance data this morning.
On the corporate events side, the TSX-listed Imperial Oil and Fortis are expected to announce their latest quarterly results on October 27.
Market movers on the TSX today
