Canadian stocks fell for the second session in a row on Wednesday even though the Bank of Canada (BoC) announced a 25 basis point cut in the policy interest rate to 4.5%, pointing to easing inflation and economic conditions. The S&P/TSX Composite Index dived by 174 points, or 0.8%, to settle at 22,640 — its lowest closing level in over a week.
While most key sectors ended the session with losses, healthcare, consumer cyclical, and tech stocks led the market selloff, dragging the TSX benchmark lower as disappointing tech earnings from the United States weighed on investors’ sentiments.
During his monetary policy report press conference, BoC governor Tiff Macklem noted that Canada’s economic growth is expected to rise in late 2024 and 2025, with inflation gradually stabilizing. The central bank’s focus remains on balancing growth without creating excessive inflation, he added.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Shares of Bausch Health (TSX:BHC) nosedived by nearly 23% to $8.02 per share, making it the worst-performing TSX stock for the day. This massive selloff in BHC stock started after the New York-headquartered credit intelligence firm Reorg cited unnamed sources to claim that “Bausch Health is negotiating a potential prepackaged chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.”
Later during the day, Bausch addressed these rumours suggesting potential bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings by formally denying these claims and stating it has not been involved in such discussions with creditors. However, the news still seemingly took a toll on investors’ sentiments, leading to a crash in BHC stock.
Celestica, Tilray Brands, and Shopify were also among the bottom performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange, sliding by at least 5.2% each.
On the flip side, TransAlta, Atco, Spin Master, and First Quantum Minerals climbed by at least 2.6% each, making them the day’s top-performing TSX stocks.
Based on their daily trade volume, Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Manulife Financial, Enbridge, and Suncor Energy were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Most commodity prices were trading with big losses early Thursday morning, pointing to a lower opening for the resource-heavy main TSX index today.
While no major domestic economic releases are due, Canadian investors will closely monitor the U.S. GDP (gross domestic product) quarterly growth numbers this morning. Any surprising changes in the GDP growth data could give further direction to TSX stocks as investors also continue to assess the BoC’s latest monetary policy report.
On the corporate events front, several TSX-listed companies, including TFI International, Baytex Energy, Eldorado Gold, MEG Energy, Loblaw Companies, Bombardier, FirstService, Veren, Advantage Energy, Winpak, and Mullen Group, are likely to announce their latest quarterly financial results on July 25.
Market movers on the TSX today
