Canadian stocks across sectors bounced back sharply on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve not only decided to hold interest rates steady at 5.25% to 5.5% for the third consecutive meeting but also hinted toward the possibility of multiple rate cuts in the next year. As the latest shift in the American central bank’s monetary stance gave investors a reason to cheer, the S&P/TSX Composite Index zoomed up by 396 points, or 2%, yesterday to settle at 20,629 — its highest closing level since May 2023.
A shift in the Fed’s monetary stance
Interestingly, based on its latest economic projections, the Fed now expects the federal funds rate to be in a range of 3.9% to 5.4% in 2024, lower than its earlier projection range of 4.4% to 6.1%.
Besides the Fed’s big announcement, the release of cooler-than-expected U.S. wholesale inflation data for November also added optimism. While all main market sectors ended in the green, metal mining, real estate, healthcare, and utility stocks led the TSX rally in the last session.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
As the Fed’s decision led to a positive turnaround in metals prices across the board, mining stocks like K92 Mining, Orla Mining, First Majestic Silver, IAMGOLD, and First Quantum Minerals jumped by at least 9.8% each, making them the top-performing TSX stocks for the day.
In contrast, NexGen Energy, Denison Mines, and Dollarama (TSX:DOL) were the bottom performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange as they slipped by more than 2% each.
The weakness in Dollarama stock came even as the Canadian value retailer announced its upbeat October quarter results before the market opening bell on Wednesday. During the quarter, the company’s total revenue rose 14.6% year over year to $1.5 billion. Similarly, its adjusted quarterly earnings jumped 31.4% from a year ago to $0.92 per share, exceeding Bay Street analysts’ expectations of $0.86 per share. Despite the recent declines, however, DOL stock is still up 22.5% on a year-to-date basis.
According to the daily trade volume data, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Cenovus Energy, Manulife Financial, Enbridge, and Bank of Nova Scotia were the day’s most heavily traded stocks on the TSX.
TSX today
After rebounding sharply in the last session, commodity prices across the board traded on a firm note early Thursday morning, pointing to a slightly higher open for the resource-heavy TSX index today.
While no key domestic economic releases are due, Canadian investors may want to keep a close eye on the latest monthly retail sales and weekly jobless claims data from the United States this morning. Overall, most TSX stocks may remain volatile today, as investors continue to closely assess the Fed’s latest economic projections and statement.
On the corporate events side, TSX-listed Empire Company and Enghouse Systems are expected to announce their latest quarterly results on December 14.
Market movers on the TSX today
