The Canadian equities market turned slightly positive on Tuesday with the help of a recovery in commodity prices even as weaker-than-expected U.S. retail sales data raised concerns about economic growth. The S&P/TSX Composite Index ended the volatile session with a minor gain of 23 points, or 0.1%, from its previous closing at 21,611.
On the one hand, a recovery in commodity prices lifted shares of mining and energy companies. On the other hand, economic concerns led to a selloff in other key sectors like technology, real estate, and industrials, restricting the TSX benchmark’s upward movement.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Ballard Power Systems (TSX:BLDP) rallied by nearly 7% to $3.75 per share, making it the top-performing TSX stock for the day. These solid gains in BLDP stock came after the Burnaby-based proton exchange membrane fuel cell company announced a strategic partnership with Vertiv to support alternative energy usage for data centres.
The Ballard-Vertiv partnership focuses on demonstrating hydrogen-powered fuel cell solutions for backup power, scalable from 200 kilowatts to multiple megawatts, mainly to meet the growing power demand of data centers. Despite the recent gains, however, BLDP stock is still down around 24% on a year-to-date basis.
Capstone Copper, CAE, Badger Infrastructure Solutions, and IAMGOLD were also among the top performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange, climbing by at least 4.3% each.
In contrast, Lightspeed Commerce and Shopify dived by at least 3.5% each, making them the session’s worst-performing TSX stocks.
Based on their daily trade volume numbers, Canadian Natural Resources, Power Corporation of Canada, Suncor Energy, Baytex Energy, and Pembina Pipeline were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Copper prices inched up early Wednesday morning, while most commodity prices were mixed. As a result, the resource-heavy main TSX index could largely remain flat at the open today despite expected gains in the shares of base metal mining companies.
Overall, most TSX stocks will likely remain choppy today as the U.S. stock markets remain closed for Juneteenth National Independence Day.
Market movers on the TSX today
