Despite a recovery in crude oil and copper prices, and surprisingly strong U.S. new home sales numbers, Canadian stocks continued to retreat from their record highs on Wednesday as Fed chair Jerome Powell’s recent comments kept investors cautious about the outlook for growth and inflation. The S&P/TSX Composite Index slipped by another 59 points, or 0.2%, to settle at 29,757 — declining for two consecutive days for the first time in over a month.
Despite an intraday rally in healthcare and energy stocks, sharp declines in other key sectors, including real estate and financials, dragged the TSX benchmark lower.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Celestica, DPM Metals, K92 Mining, and Lundin Gold were the worst-performing TSX stocks for the day, with each diving by at least 5%.
However, a sharp rebound in copper prices drove Capstone Copper, Ivanhoe Mines, Lundin Mining, and Ero Copper up by at least 8.4% each, making them the day’s top-performing TSX stocks.
The Toronto Stock Exchange-listed shares of Lithium Americas (TSX:LAC) rocketed 98% to reach their highest level in 17 months. The surge drew investors’ attention after a Reuters report claimed the Trump administration is seeking up to a 10% equity stake in LAC as it renegotiates terms of a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) loan for the Thacker Pass project.
Separately, Lithium Americas issued its own statement acknowledging discussions with the DOE and General Motors over loan conditions and potential amendments, but stopped short of confirming the equity stake talks reported by the media. Although Lithium Americas is not a part of the TSX Composite Index, this development is significant as it underscores the Thacker Pass project’s importance in North America’s electric vehicle supply chain. This could be the main reason why investors piled into LAC stock after the news.
According to the exchange’s daily trade volume data, Canadian Natural Resources, Cenovus Energy, TC Energy, Capstone Copper, and Barrick Mining were the five most active stocks.
TSX today
Most commodity prices, except copper, were slightly negative in early Thursday trading, signalling a cautious start for the resource-heavy main TSX index today.
While no major domestic economic releases are due, Canadian investors will closely monitor the quarterly GDP (gross domestic product) growth, monthly existing home sales, and weekly jobless claims from the United States this morning.
These reports could influence broader market sentiment and provide clearer signals on the future of U.S. monetary policy, which has recently weighed on risk appetite.
On the corporate events side, the TSX-listed software firm BlackBerry will announce its latest quarterly results today. Street analysts expect the Waterloo-based firm to post a net profit of US$8.45 million for the August quarter with revenue of US$122.1 million.
Market movers on the TSX today
