After posting a fresh all-time high in the previous session, Canadian stocks turned lower on Tuesday as investors took some profits off the table and assessed the latest quarterly bank earnings reports. The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell by 89 points, or 0.4%, yesterday to settle at 23,260. Nevertheless, the market benchmark is still trading solid year-to-date gains of 11%.
Despite continued gains in real estate stocks, heavy losses in other key sectors, including healthcare, energy, and mining, pressured the TSX index.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Bank of Montreal (TSX: BMO) was the worst-performing TSX stock for the day as it tanked by 6.5% to $112.04 per share. This selloff in BMO stock came after the Toronto-headquartered lender announced its worse-than-expected quarterly financial results.
In the quarter ended in July 2024, Bank of Montreal’s total revenue rose 1.7% year over year to $8.2 billion. However, its adjusted quarterly earnings slipped by 5% from a year ago to $2.64 per share due to higher provisions for credit losses and the weak performance of its wealth management segment. BMO stock is now down around 15% on a year-to-date basis and offers a 5.2% annualized dividend yield.
Tilray, International Petroleum, and Interfor were also among the day’s bottom performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange, slipping by at least 3.6% each.
On the positive side, shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX: BNS) climbed by 2.5% to $67.22 per share after its July quarter earnings beat Street analysts’ expectations by a narrow margin. Despite credit challenges, the strong performance of Scotiabank’s Canadian banking operations also boosted investors’ confidence.
MDA Space, H&R REIT, and Gildan Activewear also inched up by at least 2.3% each, making them among the top-performing TSX stocks for the session.
Based on their daily trade volume, Canadian Natural Resources, Manulife Financial, Suncor Energy, Bank of Montreal, and Enbridge were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Commodity prices across the board, including crude oil and metals, were bearish early Wednesday morning, which could pressure the resource-heavy main TSX index at the open today.
While no major domestic economic releases are due, energy investors may want to keep an eye on the latest crude oil stockpile data from the United States this morning.
On the corporate events side, more Canadian financial institutions, including Royal Bank of Canada, National Bank of Canada, and EQB, will announce their latest quarterly results on August 28.
Market movers on the TSX today
