An intraday selloff in metals prices and higher treasury bond yields drove Canadian stocks downward on Friday as investors turned cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s much-awaited interest rate decision. The S&P/TSX Composite Index plunged by 222 points, or 1%, in the last session to settle at 22,007, marking its worst single-day performance so far in June.
While all key market sectors ended the session in red, shares of metal mining, real estate, and energy companies fell the most, pressuring the TSX benchmark.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
IAMGOLD, Eldorado Gold, Pan American Silver, New Gold, and First Majestic Silver were the worst-performing TSX stocks for the day as they dived by more than 7% each.
Despite the broader market weakness, Saputo (TSX:SAP) inched up by 6.8% to $29.84 per share, making it the day’s top performer on the Toronto Stock Exchange. This rally in SAP stock came a day after the Montréal-based dairy products firm announced its slightly better-than-expected quarterly financial results.
After declining for three consecutive quarters on a year-over-year basis, Saputo’s total revenue climbed by 1.7% to $4.5 billion in the quarter ended in March 2024. The company’s adjusted quarterly earnings slipped by 21.3% from a year ago to $0.37 per share due partly to inflationary pressures but exceeded Street analysts’ expectations. SAP stock now trades with 11.2% year-to-date gains and offers a 2.5% annualized dividend yield.
North West Company and Secure Energy Services were also among the session’s top-performing TSX stocks, rising by at least 4.5% each.
Based on their daily trade volume, Suncor Energy, Manulife Financial, Canadian Natural Resources, Enbridge, and Telus were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
After sliding sharply in the last session, commodity prices across the board staged a recovery early Monday morning, pointing to a slightly higher opening for the resource-heavy main TSX index today.
While no major economic releases are due this morning, Canadian stocks may still remain volatile as investors adjust their positions in anticipation of the Fed’s upcoming interest rate decision on Wednesday.
On the corporate events front, the TSX-listed Enghouse Systems will release its latest earnings report today after the market closing bell. Bay Street expects the Canadian software solutions provider to post earnings of $0.36 per share for the April quarter with a revenue of $123.2 million.
Market movers on the TSX today
