Canadian stocks remained largely flat on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve decided to hold interest rates steady, citing solid economic growth but persistent inflation concerns. The S&P/TSX Composite Index advanced by 18 points for the day to settle at 26,560.
Despite buying in healthcare, financials, and technology stocks, weakness in commodity-linked sectors such as energy and materials offset broader gains, keeping the TSX largely range-bound.
The U.S. Fed remains cautious
During his press conference, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell noted that the U.S. economy remains strong, but inflation is still running higher than the central bank’s target, partly because of recent tariff hikes.
Nevertheless, according to the Fed’s latest economic projections, policymakers still expect the federal funds rate to fall to around 3.9% by year-end, indicating there might be room for at least one rate cut in the coming months. This cautious approach from the Fed left TSX investors uncertain, resulting in mixed market performance.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Keyera (TSX:KEY) climbed by 5.7% to $44.47 per share, making it one of the day’s top-performing TSX stocks. This rally in KEY stock came after the Calgary-based energy infrastructure firm announced a $5.15 billion deal to acquire substantially all of Plains’s Canadian natural gas liquids business, along with select U.S. assets.
Investors appeared to cheer the transaction’s potential to boost Keyera’s profitability through expected synergies and increased scale. The deal was accompanied by a $1.8 billion bought-deal equity offering to support financing. Over the last year, Keyera stock has risen 22%.
Bausch Health, Methanex, and Celestica were also among the top gainers on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with each climbing by at least 3.4%.
On the flip side, IAMGOLD, Pembina Pipeline, Pason Systems, and Torex Gold slipped by at least 2.1%, making them the session’s worst-performing TSX stocks.
Based on their daily trade volume, Canadian Natural Resources, Suncor Energy, Cenovus Energy, Baytex Energy, and Enbridge were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Crude oil prices were largely bullish in early trading on Thursday, with geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continuing to stoke concerns over supply disruptions. This trend could give TSX energy stocks a lift at the open, although broader market activity may remain muted in the absence of major economic releases.
Also, the U.S. market will remain closed for Juneteenth, which could lead to lower-than-usual trading volumes on the TSX.
On the corporate events side, the TSX-listed Empire Company will announce its latest quarterly results today. Analysts expect the food retailer to post earnings of $0.71 per share for the April quarter with revenue of $7.65 billion.
Market movers on the TSX today
