An intraday bounce back in precious metals prices and better-than-expected U.S. job openings and consumer confidence data helped Canadian equities turn slightly positive on Tuesday, even though investors remained cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy event. The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 45 points, or 0.2%, yesterday to settle at 22,825.
Despite weakness in some technology stocks, strong gains in other key sectors, such as healthcare, consumer staples, and utilities, guided the TSX benchmark higher.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Filo (TSX: FIL) jumped by 8.8% to $32 per share, making it the top-performing TSX stock for the day. This rally in the shares of the Vancouver-headquartered miner came a day after BHP and Lundin Mining revealed their intentions to acquire Filo for $4.5 billion, offering Filo shareholders $33.00 per share in cash or Lundin Mining shares.
This deal reflected a more than 32% premium over Filo’s 30-day volume weighted average price as of July 11, boosting investors’ confidence. For this acquisition, BHP and Lundin Mining will form a joint venture to develop the Filo del Sol and Josemaria copper-gold projects, which are likely to improve operational efficiency and synergies. On a year-to-date basis, FIL stock is now up around 52%.
Secure Energy Services, Tilray Brands, and Topaz Energy were also among the day’s top gainers on the Toronto Stock Exchange, climbing by at least 4.8% each.
On the flip side, Bank of Montreal, First Quantum Minerals, Lundin Mining, and Brookfield Renewable Partners slid by at least 2.6% each, making these the session’s worst-performing TSX stocks.
Based on their daily trade volume, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Enbridge, Bank of Nova Scotia, Baytex Energy, and Filo were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Commodity prices across the board rose sharply early Wednesday morning amid escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia and the Middle East. Given that, the resource-heavy main TSX index could open higher from its previous closing today.
Besides Canada’s monthly GDP (gross domestic product) growth numbers, TSX investors will keep an eye on the latest non-farm employment data from the United States this morning. More importantly, the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision and press conference will remain on investors’ radar in the afternoon, which could give further direction to stocks.
On the corporate events side, several TSX-listed companies, including Tourmaline Oil, Parkland, SSR Mining, TMX Group, Alamos Gold, Agnico Eagle Mines, Kinross Gold, Primaris REIT, Vermilion Energy, NFI Group, Russel Metals, Kinaxis, GFL Environmental, Ivanhoe Mines, Capital Power, CGI Group, Fortis, and Cameco, are likely to announce their latest quarterly results on July 31.
Market movers on the TSX today
