Largely upbeat corporate earnings reports and speculation about the outcome of the U.S. presidential election drove Canadian stocks higher on Tuesday, with investors keeping a close eye on sectors sensitive to economic policy shifts. The S&P/TSX Composite Index advanced by 132 points, or 0.5%, to settle at 24,388.
While nearly all key market sectors ended the session in the green, the TSX rally was mainly driven by solid gains in healthcare, utility, and industrial stocks.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
TransAlta (TSX: TA) inched up by nearly 7% to $15.30 per share, making it the top-performing TSX stock for the day. This rally in TA stock came after the Calgary-based power-generation firm released its September quarter earnings report.
TransAlta’s latest results revealed a decline in profitability, with its adjusted quarterly EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) falling 28.3% year over year to $325 million, partly due to lower power prices and increased outages. Despite these negative factors, investor sentiment remained positive, possibly due to TransAlta’s focus on proactive hedging strategies, progress on the Heartland Generation acquisition, and share buybacks. On a year-to-date basis, TA stock is up 39%.
Capital Power, Ivanhoe Mines, and Capstone Copper were also among the day’s top performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with each climbing by at least 4.8%.
In contrast, shares of Cargojet plunged by 6.5% to $129.73 per share despite its better-than-expected third-quarter earnings. While the company’s focus on optimizing its operations improved its profitability in the latest quarter, Cargojet acknowledged major cost increases, which could potentially affect its profit margins in the future. After the recent declines, Cargojet stock now trades with 9% year-to-date gains.
Colliers International, Restaurant Brands, and Toromont Industries also slipped by at least 3% each, positioning them among the session’s worst-performing TSX stocks.
According to the exchange’s daily trade volume data, Suncor Energy, BCE, Enbridge, Telus, and Air Canada were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
U.S. stock futures jumped sharply in early morning trading on Wednesday as a projected win for Donald Trump in the presidential election fueled optimism among investors. This rally in key American indices could also lift the TSX Composite at the open today.
While the final outcome of the presidential race is yet to be declared, markets are already reacting positively to the possible policy implications. New major updates related to election results could continue to influence the market sentiment throughout the day.
On the corporate events side, many large TSX-listed companies, including Nutrien, SSR Mining, B2Gold, Algoma Steel, Franco-Nevada, Manulife Financial, NFI Group, CES Energy, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, ATS, and Innergex Renewable Energy, are likely to announce their latest quarterly results on November 6.
Market movers on the TSX today
