Canadian stocks tanked sharply on Wednesday as big intraday declines in commodity prices, mixed bank earnings, and a big spike in treasury bond yields made investors worried. The S&P/TSX Composite Index dived by 367 points, or 1.6%, yesterday to settle at 21,898.
With this downturn, the market benchmark not only recorded its worst single-day performance in over three months but also closed below the 22,000 level for the first time in more than three weeks. While all main TSX sectors ended the session in red territory, the market selloff was mainly triggered by heavy losses in shares of financial, mining, utilities, and energy companies.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
With its 8.9% intraday losses, Bank of Montreal (TSX: BMO) was the worst-performing TSX stock for the day. This drop in BMO stock came after the Canadian lender’s latest quarterly revenue and earnings missed Street analysts’ expectations.
In the quarter ended in April, Bank of Montreal’s total revenue fell 5.4% year over year to $8 billion due to its weaker net interest income. Higher provisions for credit losses on impaired loans and lower revenues drove the bank’s adjusted quarterly earnings down by 11.6% from a year ago to $2.59 per share, missing analysts’ estimates of $2.77 per share. BMO stock now trades at $119.48 per share with 9% year-to-date losses and offers a 4.6% annualized dividend yield.
Ero Copper, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, and OceanaGold were also among the day’s bottom performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange, plunging by at least 4.9% each.
On the flip side, National Bank of Canada was the top-performing TSX stock as it rose 2.5% to $115.89 per share after announcing its slightly better-than-expected quarterly financial results.
According to the exchange’s daily trade volume data, Suncor Energy, Enbridge, Manulife Financial, Bank of Montreal, and Pembina Pipeline were the most active stocks.
TSX today
After falling sharply in the previous session, most commodity prices, especially metals, extended their losses early Thursday morning, which could pressure the resource-heavy main TSX index at the open today. Canada’s 10-year bond yields climbed yesterday to their highest level in May 2024, reflecting heightened concerns over inflation and the risk of further delay in economic recovery.
While no major domestic economic releases are due, TSX investors may want to closely monitor the latest quarterly growth in the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) and weekly jobless claims and crude oil stockpile data this morning.
On the corporate events side, large Canadian banks like Royal Bank of Canada and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce will announce their latest quarterly results on May 30.
Market movers on the TSX today
