Canadian stocks climbed for the seventh day in a row on Wednesday as investors awaited more clarity on the new U.S. administration’s trade and economic policies under President Donald Trump but largely remained optimistic about the upcoming corporate earnings season. The S&P/TSX Composite Index ended the volatile session with a minor 30-point at 25,312.
Even as sectors like utilities and financials gave up some ground, strong performance in healthcare, industrial, and tech stocks propelled the index to another positive close. With this, the TSX benchmark has risen 3.2% in the last seven sessions.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
AtkinsRéalis Group, Cameco, Energy Fuels, and Bird Construction were the top-performing TSX stocks for the day, with each climbing by at least 5.2%.
In contrast, Capstone Copper, Innergex Renewable Energy, TransAlta, and Lundin Mining slipped by at least 4.2% each, making them the day’s worst-performing stocks on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Shares of Primaris Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX:PMZ.UN) slid by 1.6% to $14.34 per share following the announcement of its $724 million transaction plan, which includes the acquisition of two major enclosed shopping centers and the sale of Sherwood Park Mall.
Despite a seemingly positive development, the decline in Primaris REIT’s shares might reflect investors’ concerns about the dilutive impact of issuing new equity units and preferred units to finance the acquisitions. Also, uncertainty around the timing of the realization of projected growth remains. On a year-to-date basis, Primaris stock is now down 7.3%.
Based on their daily trade volume, Enbridge, TD Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, Canadian Natural Resources, and Telus were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Commodity prices across the board were largely bearish early Thursday morning, which could weigh on key TSX sectors like energy and materials at the open today.
Beyond the U.S. labour market report and domestic monthly retail sales, TSX investors will continue to track the Trump administration’s potential trade policy moves that may affect Canadian exporters.
On the corporate events side, the TSX-listed NovaGold Resources is likely to announce its November quarter financial results. Street analysts expect the company to report a quarterly net loss of two cents per share.
Market movers on the TSX today
