The Canadian equities market pulled back from its all-time highs on Wednesday following the Bank of Canada’s decision to keep interest rates steady. The central bank stated it’s “looking for evidence that the recent further easing in underlying inflation will be sustained.” Besides the uncertainties about the timing of upcoming rate cuts, hotter-than-expected U.S. consumer inflation numbers drove the S&P/TSX Composite Index down by 163 points, or 0.7%, yesterday to 22,199.
Although an intraday rally in crude oil and natural gas prices amid growing geopolitical tensions guided energy stocks upward, most other key TSX sectors, mainly in healthcare, real estate, and technology, fell sharply during the session.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics, the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers rose 0.4% in March, mirroring the increase from February, with significant monthly increases in the shelter and gasoline indexes.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, EQB, OceanaGold, and Brookfield were the worst-performing TSX stocks for the day as they plunged by at least 4% each.
On the flip side, Kelt Exploration and Athabasca Oil jumped by over 6% each, making them the day’s top-performing TSX stocks.
Shares of Orla Mining (TSX:OLA) also climbed by 4.1% to $5.58 per share, making it among the Toronto Stock Exchange’s top performers. Despite an intraday weakness in gold prices, these gains in OLA stock came after the Vancouver-headquartered miner announced an interim operational update for the first quarter.
In the quarter ended in March, the performance of Orla Mining’s Camino Rojo Oxide Mine remained strong, producing 33,223 ounces of gold and selling 32,046 ounces. The operation mined 1.94 million tonnes of ore with a low strip ratio of 0.45. Financially, Orla ended the quarter with $118.1 million in cash and $88.4 million in debt, also securing a net cash position of $29.7 million. After the recent rally, OLA stock now trades with 29.2% year-to-date gains.
Based on their daily trade volume, TD Bank, ARC Resources, Scotiabank, Manulife Financial, and Baytex Energy were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Commodity prices, especially crude oil and copper, were trading on a weak note early Thursday morning, pointing to a slightly lower opening for the resource-heavy main TSX index today.
While no major domestic economic releases are due, Canadian investors may want to monitor this morning’s latest monthly wholesale inflation and weekly initial jobless claims data from the United States, which could further influence TSX stocks.
On the corporate events side, TSX-listed Richelieu Hardware and Cogeco Communications are likely to announce their latest quarterly financial results on April 11.
Market movers on the TSX today
