Canadian equities traded on a weak note on Tuesday as investors turned cautious before the release of the important U.S. consumer inflation report and the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy event. The S&P/TSX Composite Index plunged by 182 points, or 0.8%, yesterday to settle at 21,887 — its lowest closing level in over a month.
While most main market sectors ended the session in red, the TSX selloff was mainly driven by heavy losses in healthcare, mining, and financial stocks.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Advantage Energy, NexGen Energy, Cameco, and Denison Mines were the worst-performing TSX stocks for the day, diving by more than 5% each.
On the positive side, shares of Enghouse Systems (TSX:ENGH) climbed by 4.7% to $30.54 per share, making it the session’s top-performing TSX stock. This rally in ENGH stock came a day after the Markham-based enterprise software solutions company announced its second-quarter financial results.
In the quarter ended in April 2024, Enghouse’s total revenue surged by 10.9% year over year to $125.8 million with the help of strong growth in its recurring revenue. Also, new acquisitions helped the company post a solid 56.5% increase in its quarterly adjusted earnings from a year ago to $0.36 per share. Despite the recent recovery, however, ENGH stock is still down 4.7% year to date and offers a 3.6% annualized dividend yield.
MDA Space and Cargojet were also among the top performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange as they rose by at least 1.9% each.
Based on their daily trade volume, Canadian Natural Resources, Suncor Energy, TD Bank, Telus, and Manulife Financial were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures prices continued to climb for the third consecutive session early Wednesday morning, pointing to a slightly higher opening for TSX energy stocks today.
Moreover, the TSX index may remain highly volatile as investors react to the latest U.S. consumer inflation data scheduled to be released before the market opening bell today. Besides Bank of Canada’s governor Tiff Macklem’s speech, Canadian investors will closely monitor the U.S. Fed’s interest rate decision, press conference, and latest economic projections this afternoon, which could give further direction to stocks.
In another key development, the National Bank of Canada revealed its intentions to acquire Canadian Western Bank for a valuation of about $5 billion. The news about the deal, which is expected to close by the end of 2025 after receiving shareholder and regulatory approvals, could lead to higher volatility in these bank stocks.
On the corporate events side, the TSX-listed value retailer Dollarama is likely to announce its April quarter results on June 12. Bay Street analysts expect the company to post quarterly earnings of $0.76 per share with $1.4 billion in revenue.
Market movers on the TSX today
