Canadian stocks pulled from their record highs on Thursday, snapping their three-day winning streak, as investors digested a wave of corporate earnings and mixed economic data from both sides of the border. The S&P/TSX Composite Index slipped 44 points, or 0.2%, to close at 27,372.
Despite healthy gains in some key sectors like healthcare, real estate, and consumer staples, steep declines in consumer discretionary and mining stocks offset much of the strength, dragging the TSX index slightly lower.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Shares of Orla Mining (TSX:OLA) tanked by 14.4% to $13.72 apiece, making it the worst-performing TSX stock for the day. This massive selloff in OLA stock followed the Vancouver-based miner’s update on a pit wall event at its Camino Rojo mine in Mexico, where roughly 390,000 tonnes of material shifted into the pit.
While no injuries or environmental damage occurred, Orla Mining’s open-pit mining operations have been temporarily suspended pending geotechnical assessments. Although crushing and stacking of stockpiled ore continues to mitigate short-term production impact, the event has cast uncertainty over Orla’s full-year production outlook. Despite the recent selloff, OLA stock is still up 72.4% on a year-to-date basis.
Teck Resources, Boyd Group Services, and West Fraser Timber were also among the bottom performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with each diving by at least 5.7%.
In contrast, FirstService (TSX:FSV) jumped nearly 9% to $264.66 per share after the real estate services firm posted a blowout second quarter, topping analysts’ expectations. Last quarter, the company’s revenue rose 9% year over year, while adjusted earnings climbed 26% to US$1.71 per share, fueled by strong operating margins across both its residential and brands segments. After the recent gains, FSV stock has risen over 11% so far in July.
Whitecap Resources, Energy Fuels, and Nexgen Energy also rose by at least 4.9% each, making them among the session’s top TSX gainers.
Based on their daily trade volume, Whitecap Resources, Cenovus Energy, Manulife Financial, Enbridge, and Baytex Energy were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Gold and silver prices fell for the third consecutive session in early Friday trading. Meanwhile, crude oil and base metals showed modest gains. These mixed commodity signals may result in a flat start for the TSX today.
While no major economic releases from the U.S. are due, Canadian investors will closely monitor the domestic monthly budget balance report, which could provide insight into the federal government’s fiscal position and broader economic trends.
Overall, TSX stocks may remain volatile heading into the weekend ahead of a busier stretch of earnings and key macroeconomic data next week. Notably, both the Bank of Canada (BoC) and the U.S. Federal Reserve are scheduled to deliver interest rate decisions next week, which could significantly influence market sentiment.
Market movers on the TSX today
