The Canadian stock market started the holiday-shortened week on a mixed note as the positive sentiment about possible interest rate reductions seemed to fade away. The S&P/TSX Composite Index slipped by 42 points, or 0.2%, on Monday to settle at 21,942, marking its second consecutive losing session after closing on record highs.
Even as strengthening West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures prices drove energy stocks higher, weakness in most other key sectors, primarily healthcare, industrials, and utilities, pressured the TSX benchmark.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Tilray, Northland Power, NovaGold Resources, and Cameco were the worst-performing TSX stocks for the day as they plunged by at least 3% each.
On the flip side, IAMGOLD, TMX Group, Vermilion Energy, and Athabasca Oil stood out as the top performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange by posting gains of at least 4% each.
Lightspeed Commerce (TSX:LSPD) also jumped by 3.4% to $18.73 per share, trimming its month-to-date losses to 1.7%. The recent rally in LSPD stock started after the Montréal-based commerce platform provider’s chief executive officer (CEO), Dax Dasilva, expressed openness to the idea of taking the company private in an interview with La Presse.
Lightspeed CEO’s comments about taking the company private came a few days after the Canadian payment solutions firm Nuvei (TSX:NVEI) told investors that it formed a special committee of independent directors to evaluate expressions of interest and other strategic alternatives. Notably, shares of NVEI have gone up by 32.4% since then.
Based on their daily trade volume, Suncor Energy, TC Energy, Canadian Natural Resources, Manulife Financial, and TD Bank were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Commodity prices, especially metals, were trading on a bullish note early Tuesday morning, pointing to a slightly higher open for the resource-heavy main TSX index today.
While no major domestic economic releases are due, Canadian investors may want to keep a close eye on the latest monthly consumer confidence data this morning, which could give further direction to stocks.
Market movers on the TSX today
