Despite a positive U.S. non-farm employment report for September, Canadian equities faced some pressure on Wednesday as investors monitored escalating tensions in West Asia and the Middle East. After rallying by as much as 79 points in intraday trading, the S&P/TSX Composite Index couldn’t sustain its momentum and slipped 32 points to end at 24,002.
On the one hand, some sectors, like consumer cyclicals and technology, trended upward. On the other hand, selling in healthcare, real estate, and utility stocks dragged the overall market lower, contributing to the TSX Composite’s decline by the end of the day.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Parex Resources, Winpak, Bank of Nova Scotia, Primaris REIT, and Finning International were the worst-performing TSX stocks for the day, with each sliding by at least 2.2%.
In contrast, Energy Fuels (TSX: EFR) jumped by 4.6% to $7.93 per share, making it the session’s top-performing TSX stock. This rally in EFR stock came after the U.S. headquartered mining firm completed its acquisition of Australia-based Base Resources, securing a large-scale rare earth minerals source with the Toliara Project in Madagascar.
Energy Fuels expects this deal to strengthen U.S. critical mineral supply chains crucial for clean energy, economic security, and national defence. The company now plans to develop and process minerals, including rare earth elements like neodymium and praseodymium, at its Utah facility. Despite the recent rally, however, EFR stock is still down 16.5% year to date.
International Petroleum, First Majestic Silver, and Kinross Gold were also among the day’s worst performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange as they fell by at least 2.6% each.
Based on their daily trade volume, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Canadian Natural Resources, Bank of Nova Scotia, TC Energy, and Baytex Energy were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Metals prices across the board were bearish early Thursday morning, which could pressure TSX mining stocks at the open today.
While no major domestic economic releases are due, Canadian investors will keep an eye on monthly services PMI (purchasing managers index), non-manufacturing PMI, and weekly jobless claims figures from the United States this morning. They will also continue to closely watch the West Asia conflict, which has the potential to inject further volatility into global markets.
Market movers on the TSX today
