Canadian equities continued to trade on a slightly negative note on Friday as mixed economic data and global trade uncertainties momentarily cooled investor enthusiasm. The S&P/TSX Composite Index slipped by 36 points for the day to settle at 26,175. Nevertheless, the market index still ended the month with a solid 5.4% gain — marking its best performance in six months.
Despite continued buying in many sectors such as consumer, financials, and industrials, heavy intraday losses in healthcare and energy stocks offset broader gains, leading to a mixed market close.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Tilray, Ivanhoe Mines, ATS, and Baytex Energy slid by at least 4.3% each, making them Friday’s worst-performing TSX stocks.
On the flip side, BRP (TSX:DOO) soared by nearly 8% to settle at $60.45 per share, extending its two-day rally to 22%. These sharp gains in the stock came after the powersports maker delivered April quarter results that showed a 279% year-over-year surge in its net profit, driven mainly by lower operating expenses, strong foreign exchange gains, and disciplined inventory management in a challenging retail environment.
Investors were also encouraged by BRP’s decisive focus on its core powersports business and cost optimizations. On a year-to-date basis, however, BRP stock is still down 17.4%.
Laurentian Bank of Canada, G Mining Ventures, and EQB were also among the session’s top-performing TSX stocks, with each climbing by over 3%.
Based on their daily trade volume, Whitecap Resources, Alamos Gold, Suncor Energy, Air Canada, and Brookfield Asset Management were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Commodity prices across the board jumped sharply in early trading on Monday with escalating Russia-Ukraine tensions, pointing to a potentially strong open for resource-heavy sectors on the TSX today.
While no major domestic economic releases are due, Canadian investors may want to keep an eye on the latest U.S. manufacturing data this morning. In the afternoon, the Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s remarks about the economy and monetary policy could provide critical clues for market direction.
Market movers on the TSX today
