Despite rising crude oil prices, Canadian equities struggled to gain traction at the start of the week, with bond yields climbing to their highest in over two months. This spike in yields apparently reignited concerns about high borrowing costs amid inflationary pressures, causing investors to pull back. The S&P/TSX Composite Index gave up 60 points, or 0.2%, on Monday to settle at 24,103.
Although a 3.8% intraday increase in West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures prices drove energy stocks higher, big declines in most other key sectors, including utilities, healthcare, and technology, dragged the TSX lower.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Shares of IAMGOLD (TSX:IMG) and Fortuna Mining (TSX:FVI) nosedived by at least 8.6% each, making them the worst-performing TSX Composite components for the day. This selloff in IMG and FVI stocks followed investor concerns over recent media reports regarding their operations in the West African nation Burkina Faso.
Over the weekend, Burkina Faso’s President Ibrahim Traoré hinted at the possible withdrawal of mining permits for companies not complying with local laws. Both IAMGOLD and Fortuna quickly responded, stating that their mining permits are in compliance with Burkina Faso’s regulations and that their operations are continuing as normal.
Despite these reassurances, investors seemed unconvinced, driving IAMGOLD and Fortuna Mining stocks down as a precautionary response to the potential political risks in the region. On a year-to-date basis, IMG and FVI stocks are still up 85% and 19%, respectively.
Emera, Energy Fuels, and Ero Copper were also among the bottom performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange yesterday, with each sliding by at least 4.1%.
On the flip side, Canadian Natural Resources, MDA Space, Imperial Oil, and Athabasca Oil each inched up by a minimum of 3%, positioning them as the session’s top-performing TSX stocks.
Based on their daily trade volume, Canadian Natural Resources, TD Bank, Enbridge, TC Energy, and Baytex Energy were among the most actively traded stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Most commodity prices, especially silver, copper, and crude oil, fell sharply early Tuesday morning as China’s latest economic stimulus measures seemed to disappoint investors. Given that, the main TSX index could remain under pressure at the opening today.
While no major economic releases are due today, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and West Asia will remain on TSX investors’ radar, potentially adding to market volatility in today’s session.
Market movers on the TSX today
