Canadian equities continued to surge for the eighth session in a row on Friday as weak labour market data from both sides of the border strengthened the case for interest rate cuts, fueling a broad-based rally. The S&P/TSX Composite Index advanced by 135 points, or 0.5%, to 29,051 — crossing the 29,000 level for the first time to close at a fresh record high, while also capping its longest winning streak in over three months.
Despite intraday weakness in industrial stocks, solid gains in other key sectors, like healthcare, technology, and mining, pushed the TSX to another strong finish, extending the market’s upward trend. With this, the Canadian market concluded its fifth consecutive winning week.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Celestica (TSX:CLS) climbed by nearly 10% to $336.26 per share, making it the day’s top-performing TSX stock. This rally in CLS stock came after the Toronto-based tech manufacturer unveiled its new SC6110 enterprise storage controller to deliver peak performance, high availability, and easy scalability.
Focused on mission-critical workloads like artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, high-frequency trading, and high-performance computing, this launch clearly reflects Celestica’s continued efforts to tap into surging demand for data-heavy enterprise solutions. On a year-to-date basis, CLS stock is now up over 150%.
Equinox Gold, Triple Flag Precious Metals, and Teck Resources were also among the top gainers on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with each climbing by more than 5%.
On the flip side, Enghouse Systems (TSX:ENGH) dived by 8.3% to $20.95 per share after it posted weaker-than-expected July quarter results, with its adjusted earnings falling over 16% due largely to macroeconomic uncertainty, higher costs, and $3 million in special restructuring charges.
Athabasca Oil, ARC Resources, and Canadian Natural Resources also slid by at least 3.1% each, making them among the worst-performing TSX stocks.
Based on their daily trade volume, Canadian Natural Resources, Suncor Energy, Cenovus Energy, Manulife Financial, and Equinox Gold were the most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Commodity prices across the board surged in early Monday trading, with spot gold prices crossing above the US$3,600 mark for the first time, while crude oil and silver also posted sharp early gains. The rally in commodities could provide a lift to the resource-heavy TSX at the open today.
While no major economic releases are due this morning, the TSX-listed North West Company will release its latest quarterly earnings report after the market closing bell. Bay Street analysts expect the company to post earnings of $0.79 per share for the July quarter with $641.9 million in revenue.
Market movers on the TSX today
