Canadian stocks turned bearish in the first trading session of 2024, as investors remained cautious before many important economic announcements, including the minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s recent meeting, to guide their expectations for the central bank’s future monetary policy decisions. After ending 2023 with 8.1% gains, the S&P/TSX Composite Index slid by 86 points, or 0.4%, on Tuesday to settle at 20,872.
Although overnight gains in crude oil and natural gas prices helped energy stocks rise, these gains failed to take the main TSX benchmark higher as healthcare, technology, and real estate sectors fell sharply, with investors locking in profits in the market.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Tech stocks like Lightspeed Commerce, Nuvei, Shopify, and Kinaxis were the worst-performing TSX Composite components yesterday, as they plunged by at least 4.3% each.
On the flip side, First Quantum Minerals, Osisko Mining, BCE, and NorthWest Healthcare Properties REIT climbed by at least 2.9% each, making them the top gainers on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Primo Water (TSX:PRMW) was also among the top performers, rising 2.6% in the last session to $20.48 per share. This rally in PRMW shares came after the Tampa-headquartered water solutions provider finalized a US$575 million sale of a major portion of its international segments, intending to concentrate more on its North American water business.
The deal is expected to help Primo focus on organic growth, reduce debt, and return capital to shareholders through increased share repurchases and dividends. Alongside this strategic move, the company also welcomed Robbert Rietbroek as its new chief executive officer and board member to steer future growth. With this, Primo stock has risen 23.4% in the last six months.
According to the exchange’s daily trade volume data, TD Bank, TC Energy, Bank of Nova Scotia, Royal Bank of Canada, and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce were the most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Commodity prices, including crude oil and base metals, were trading on a negative note early Wednesday morning, pointing to a lower open for the resource-heavy main TSX index today.
While no major domestic economic releases are due, Canadian investors will closely monitor the important economic releases from the United States today, including the Fed’s meeting minutes, monthly job openings, and manufacturing data, which could give further direction to TSX stocks.
Market movers on the TSX today
