Strong economic data and largely upbeat corporate results turned the Canadian equities market positive on Thursday after it witnessed minor losses in the previous two sessions. The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 146 points, or 0.7%, yesterday to 21,318 — its highest closing level in more than one-and-a-half years.
While all main market sectors ended the session in the green, the TSX rally was primarily driven by strong gains in healthcare, consumer noncyclical, and industrial stocks.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Shares of CCL Industries (TSX: CCL.B) popped by 16.4% to $60.02 per share after announcing its fourth-quarter results. In the December 2023 quarter, the North York-based packaging solutions provider’s sales climbed by 4.7% year over year to $1.66 billion with the help of acquisition-related growth and foreign currency tailwinds.
CCL’s adjusted quarterly EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) jumped 15.5% from a year ago to $336.7 million, exceeding Street analysts’ expectations. Similarly, its adjusted EBITDA margin in the last quarter expanded to 20.3% from 18.2% a year ago. After ending 2023 with a minor 3% gain, CCL stock has inched up by more than 14% so far in 2024.
Celestica, Enerplus, Innergex Renewable Energy, Bausch Health, and Nutrien were also among the day’s top performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange, as they surged by over 7% each.
On the flip side, Equinox Gold, Maple Leaf Foods, OceanaGold, and K92 Mining slipped by at least 5.6% each, making them the worst-performing TSX stocks for the day.
Based on their daily trade volume, Suncor Energy, First Quantum Minerals, Manulife Financial, Enbridge, and Enerplus were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Commodity prices across the board were bearish early Friday morning, pointing to a lower open for the resource-heavy TSX index today. Besides more corporate earnings, Canadian investors may want to watch the latest monthly budget balance data this morning. Overall, the TSX benchmark seems on track to end the week on a mixed note, as it currently trades with a minor 0.3% week-to-date gain.
On the corporate front, TSX-listed companies like CI Financial, TransAlta, and Hudbay Minerals are likely to announce their latest quarterly results on February 23.
Market movers on the TSX today
