The Canadian stock market resumed its upward move on Wednesday after a day of pause as the Fed’s latest meeting minutes showed the majority of committee members observed that “it would likely be appropriate to ease policy at the next meeting” if the data continues to be favourable. The S&P/TSX Composite Index advanced by 84 points, or 0.4%, for the day to 23,122, rising for the ninth day out of the last 10 days and closing at a fresh all-time high.
Even though weakness in crude oil and natural gas prices continued to drive energy stocks downward for the fourth straight day, handsome gains in other key TSX sectors, including real estate, technology, and mining, helped the market benchmark inch up.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Calibre Mining, NorthWest Healthcare Properties REIT, Equinox Gold, and Capstone Copper were the top-performing TSX stocks yesterday, with each climbing by at least 4.7%.
Shares of ATS (TSX:ATS) also ended the day in green territory at $37.35 per share, trimming its month-to-date losses to 10%. This optimism in ATS stock came after the Cambridge-headquartered automation solutions provider told investors that it had completed a $400 million private placement offering of 6.5% senior unsecured notes due August 21, 2032.
ATS plans to use the proceeds from this offering to pay down outstanding amounts on the revolving line of credit under its senior syndicated credit facility. Notably, ATS stock has remained under pressure so far this year as its adjusted earnings in the first six months of 2024 dived by 19% year over year to $1.15 per share due to lower revenues and higher expenses. As a result, the stock is now down nearly 35% year to date.
In contrast, Canada Goose, Boralex, and Northland Power slipped by at least 1.7% each, making them the session’s bottom performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Based on their daily trade volume, Canadian Natural Resources, Suncor Energy, Enbridge, Calibre Mining, and Osisko Mining were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Commodity prices across the board were bearish 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 monthly manufacturing, services, existing home sales, and weekly jobless claims data from the United States this morning, which could give further direction to stocks.
On the corporate events side, Toronto-Dominion Bank, the second-largest Canadian bank by market cap, will announce its July quarter results on August 22, which could keep its shares volatile today. Bay Street analysts expect the bank to post adjusted quarterly earnings of $2.07 per share with $13.05 billion in revenue.
Market movers on the TSX today
