Canadian stocks continued to decline for a second consecutive session on Monday as investors showed signs of profit-taking after an impressive year for the market. The S&P/TSX Composite Index dived by 176 points, or 0.7%, to settle at 24,621.
Although strong intraday gains in crude oil and natural gas prices helped energy stocks trade positively, heavy losses in other key sectors like mining, technology, and real estate dragged the broader index into the red.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
MAG Silver, Tilray, Seabridge Gold, and Pan American Silver were the worst-performing TSX stocks for the day, with each falling by at least 3.4%.
Shares of Aya Gold & Silver (TSX: AYA) also slipped 2.3% to $10.64 per share even after announcing the start of commercial production at its expanded Zgounder Silver Mine in Morocco. The new processing plant, operational since November 2024, processed 45,683 tonnes of ore over 30 days at 76% of its nameplate capacity, with silver recovery at 79%.
Notably, Aya reached this milestone on schedule and within budget. The company now plans to fully ramp up production to the plant’s 2,000 tons per day capacity in the first quarter of 2025. Despite this positive news, sharp intraday declines in gold and silver prices pulled AYA stock lower, which now trades with 9.6% year-to-date gains.
In contrast, Birchcliff Energy, Advantage Energy, Tourmaline Oil, and ARC Resources climbed by at least 2.8% each, making them the session’s top gainers on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Based on their daily trade volume, TD Bank, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, TC Energy, Telus, and Enbridge were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures prices continued to extend gains in early morning trading on Tuesday. At the same time, most commodity prices were mixed. Given these mixed signals, I expect the resource-heavy TSX Composite to remain flat at the open today.
While no major economic releases are due this morning, Canadian investors may continue to focus on sector-specific trends and year-end portfolio rebalancing as the final trading session of 2024 unfolds.
While the main TSX index has slipped 4% so far in December, it remains on track to end the second consecutive year in the green as it currently trades with solid 17.5% year-to-date gains.
Market movers on the TSX today
