The Canadian equities market continued to rise for a second consecutive session on Tuesday, despite the release of slightly hotter-than-expected U.S. consumer inflation numbers. The S&P/TSX Composite Index climbed by 62 points, or 0.3%, yesterday to 21,831 — its highest closing level since April 2022.
On the one hand, shares of utility and mining companies witnessed weakness. On the other hand, most other sectors, primarily consumer cyclical, industrial, and energy, traded on a firm note, helping the TSX benchmark end the session in green territory.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the consumer price index for all urban consumers increased by 0.4% in February 2024 compared to a 0.3% rise in the previous month. Similarly, the annual inflation rate stood at 3.2% last month, with the shelter and gasoline indexes being key contributors.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Celestica, Primo Water, goeasy, and Cameco were the top-performing TSX stocks for the day as they surged by at least 2.9% each.
In contrast, NovaGold Resources, TransAlta, Osisko Mining, and SSR Mining dived by over 5% each, making them the session’s worst performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Shares of Ballard Power Systems (TSX: BLDP) continued to fall sharply for the second consecutive day, extending its week-to-date losses to nearly 14%. Many notable analysts, including from Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, HSBC, Wells Fargo, and Bank of Montréal, slashed their target prices on BLDP stock on March 12, a day after its dismal fourth-quarter results came out.
Despite a solid year-over-year increase in Ballard’s revenue, the Burnaby-based company reported a wider-than-expected adjusted net loss of US$0.16 per share for the December quarter, hurting investors’ sentiments. In 2024 so far, BLDP stock has now lost more than 21% of its value.
Based on their daily trade volume, Canadian Natural Resources, Suncor Energy, Cenovus Energy, TD Bank, and TC Energy were the most heavily traded stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
After rallying for several days to reach record highs, gold price turned negative in the last session, losing more than 1% of its value in a single day. However, most commodity prices were trading on a choppy note early Wednesday morning, pointing to a flat open for the resource-heavy main TSX index today.
While no major domestic economic releases are due, energy investors may want to watch the weekly crude oil stockpile data from the United States this morning.
On the corporate events side, TSX-listed companies Mattr, Jamieson Wellness, and Enghouse Systems will announce their latest quarterly results after the market closing bell on March 13.
Market movers on the TSX today
