A strong bounce back in crude oil and metals prices helped the Canadian stock market trade positively on Tuesday, even as a mixed start of bank sector earnings weighed on the financial sector. The S&P/TSX Composite Index climbed by 45 points, or 0.2%, closing at 25,635 — just shy of its all-time high of 25,648.
While gains in silver and copper prices drove a rally in metals and mining stocks, declines in technology and bank stocks limited the TSX benchmark’s upside.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Fortuna Mining, SilverCrest Metals, New Gold, and First Majestic Silver were the top-performing TSX stocks for the day, with each climbing by at least 6.8%.
In contrast, shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX: BNS) dived by 3.4% to $77.10 per share after its October quarter earnings missed Street analysts’ estimates. During the quarter, the Canadian lender’s total revenue rose 2.6% year over year to $8.5 billion, but higher operating expenses and one-time impairment charges weighed on its profitability.
While higher net interest income drove Scotiabank’s adjusted quarterly earnings up by 24.6% from a year ago to $1.57 per share, this figure fell short of analysts’ expectations. Despite the recent losses, BNS stock is still up 19.5% on a year-to-date basis.
Great-West Lifeco, Constellation Software, and Advantage Energy were also among the bottom performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange as they slipped by over 2% each.
Based on their daily trade volume, Canadian Natural Resources, Scotiabank, Suncor Energy, Great-West Lifeco, and Enbridge were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
After posting strong gains in Tuesday’s session, most commodity prices remained muted in overnight trading, pointing to a flat opening for the resource-heavy TSX index today.
Although no major domestic economic releases are due, Canadian investors may want to closely monitor the important services PMI (purchasing managers index), non-manufacturing PMI, and non-farm employment data from the United States this morning. In the afternoon, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the New York Times DealBook Summit could provide fresh insights into the U.S central bank’s monetary policy direction.
On the corporate events front, many TSX-listed companies, including Dollarama, Royal Bank of Canada, National Bank of Canada, and EQB, will release their latest quarterly earnings reports today, which could keep their stocks volatile.
Market movers on the TSX today
