Upbeat corporate results and a recovery in crude oil prices drove the Canadian stock market upward for the second consecutive session on Friday, as investors continued to assess the possibility of more interest rate hikes. The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose by 67 points, or 0.3%, in the last session to settle at 19,654 but ended the week with a 0.9% loss.
Despite strong buying in technology and energy stocks, weakness in other market sectors. like metal mining, utilities, and consumer noncyclical, restricted the TSX rally.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Shares of Stantec (TSX: STN) inched up by 8.6% to $94.66 per share, making it the top-performing TSX stock for the day. This strength in STN stock came a day after the Edmonton-based professional consulting company announced its far better-than-expected third-quarter earnings.
In the September quarter, Stantec’s net revenue rose 13.5% year over year to US$1.3 billion, while its organic growth stood at 9%. Strong project execution also drove the company’s adjusted quarterly net profit up 32.6% from a year ago to US$1.14 per share, exceeding analysts’ expectations of US$0.97 per share. Interestingly, the recent rally extended STN stock’s year-to-date gains to about 46%.
SNC-Lavalin Group, Headwater Exploration, and Dye & Durham were also among the top gainers on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Friday, as they inched up by more than 5% each.
In contrast, shares of Altus Group crashed by nearly 22% to $30.25 per share after the company missed analysts’ quarterly revenue and earnings expectations.
Saputo, NorthWest Healthcare Properties REIT, and Exchange Income also slipped by at least 4.8% each, making them among the worst-performing TSX stocks for the day.
Based on their daily trade volume, energy stocks like Crescent Point Energy, Whitecap Resources, Enbridge, Suncor Energy, and Baytex Energy stood out as the exchange’s most active stocks.
TSX today
Most commodity prices, especially natural gas and copper, were trading on a firm note early Monday morning, pointing to a slightly higher open for the resource-heavy main TSX index today. While major domestic economic releases are due this morning, Canadian investors may want to remain cautious before the latest consumer inflation data from the United States comes out before tomorrow’s market opening bell.
On the corporate events side, TSX-listed companies Power Corporation of Canada, Sun Life Financial, and Shawcor are expected to announce their latest quarterly results after the market closing bell on November 13.
Market movers on the TSX today
