A day after posting its worst single-day performance, Canadian stocks staged a recovery on Wednesday after U.S. sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil producers triggered a sharp rebound in global crude prices. The S&P/TSX Composite Index climbed 94 points, or 0.3%, to close at 29,983.
Despite weakness in some healthcare stocks, most other key market sectors ended the session in the green, with energy, consumer staples, and utilities leading the gains.
Notably, the U.S. Treasury imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia’s top oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil, aiming to restrict the Kremlin’s access to energy revenue. The move sparked supply concerns in global markets, driving oil prices sharply higher and giving Canadian energy stocks a lift.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Energy Fuels, Canada Packers, CES Energy Solutions, and Athabasca Oil were the top-performing TSX stocks for the day, with each climbing by at least 4.6%.
On the flip side, shares of Curaleaf Holdings, BlackBerry, TFI International, and Stella-Jones slipped by at least 2.5% each, making them the session’s worst performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Mullen Group (TSX: MTL) also slipped 1.4% to $14.22 per share after the Okotoks-based transportation and logistics company posted weaker-than-expected third-quarter earnings. While its revenue rose 5.6% year over year to a record $561.8 million, its quarterly net profit still fell 13% to $33.2 million due to higher finance costs, amortization expenses, and foreign exchange headwinds.
In its latest earnings report, Mullen highlighted that recent acquisitions continued to drive its top-line growth despite ongoing weakness in private capital investment and fewer large industrial projects in Canada. While the company’s management showed confidence in its acquisition-led growth strategy, it acknowledged margin pressure from softer demand and competitive pricing.
Based on their daily trade volume, Cenovus Energy, Canadian Natural Resources, Barrick Mining, Whitecap Resources, and TC Energy were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Commodity prices, especially crude oil, silver, and copper, continued to gain ground in early Thursday trading, building on Wednesday’s momentum. Given these signals, the resource-heavy TSX index may see further support from energy and materials stocks at the open today.
In addition to the domestic retail sales data, Canadian investors will also keep an eye on the weekly jobless claims and monthly existing home sales data from the United States this morning. These data points could provide insight into the strength of consumer demand and labour market trends, both of which could influence interest rate expectations on both sides of the border.
On the corporate events side, the TSX-listed Rogers Communications and FirstService will release their latest quarterly earnings reports today, which could keep their shares in focus.
Market movers on the TSX today
